Count on Me
by iluvwillschuester
Summary: High school AU. Will was the sweet and popular jock who smiled all the time despite his horrible grades. Emma was the shy and kind but unpopular peer tutor. When Emma is assigned to help Will with all his classwork, they become friends. Emma comes to learn the real Will, the one he hides from the rest of the grade and his girlfriend Terri. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1- A Little Help

Chapter 1- A Little Help

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! So, this is my new Wemma multi-chapter story. It's a high school au that takes place at McKinley. Emma does have OCD. Will, Emma, and Terri are all juniors (3****rd**** year). There is also no such thing as Glee club. Um, I think that's all you need to know to get this. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

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Will Schuester walked back to his seat as Ms. Kennedy signaled for the class to quiet down. It was homeroom; the first thirty minutes of the school day where announcements were made and kids scrambled to do last night's homework. "Okay class, today's the first of October so we have our peer tutoring assignments. Those with a GPA under 2.5 were assigned to tutors for this whole semester…that's until January, guys. And yes, you do have to go to your tutoring sessions unless I get a signed note from a parent," Ms. Kennedy explained.

Will's friends, Jensen, Ryan, and Cody were all trying to get his attention. Will waved them off, nervously. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to have a tutor or that his teacher at least wouldn't announce the names in front of the class. "Okay…looks like we only have one student in this class, oh and the tutor's in this class too! Wonderful! Emma Pillsbury will be tutoring Will Schuester, okay?" Ms. Kennedy stated.

"Uh-oh, man…you got sessions with the neat freak," Ryan smirked.

"I thought you said you brought your grades up," Terri accused. Terri was Will's girlfriend of a year. She was the head cheerleader, he was the quarterback; it was a typical high school romance.

"You got to skip out on this," Cody whispered.

Emma watched as Will fidgeted in his seat, she could tell he was a little embarrassed to have a tutor especially with his friends. Will was the golden boy; quarterback, shooting guard on the basketball team, and a forward on the soccer team. Yet, he was different than the other popular kids. Will was nice and caring, he never made fun of others and if he caught his friends picking on someone he'd stop them. When Emma heard that she would be tutoring him a few days back, she was surprised that he'd need it. Emma had never really talked to Will before even though they had been in the same classes since kindergarten. She had always known he was there just as he knew she existed but their paths never really crossed. There was one time she had talked to him though; in second grade. It was her birthday and she had brought in chocolate chip cookies for the class. Of course, everyone had hated them. It wasn't that they tasted bad; they just thought Emma was weird and they had her germs on them. Emma could clearly remember that day, she had had two pink ribbons in her hair and Terri had yelled at her. Terri claimed that the pink conflicted with her flaming red hair and that she looked ugly during recess. Emma was crying by the time they got inside and it was time for the birthday treat. No one had wanted any cookies except Will. He ate three and smiled even though his friends were telling him to stop. That day after school, Will had chased Emma down before she could get to her dad's car. She remembered his small clammy hand tapping her back. Emma had turned around and Will had said; 'You're beautiful even if they don't think so. I think your ribbons make you look like Cinderella.' Before Emma could reply, Will had quickly hugged her and then ran away. It was the first and only time a boy had called her beautiful and she didn't plan on ever forgetting that day.

Now that they were in high school, Will was still as popular as ever but Emma wasn't, not that she ever was. Emma was an outcast; picked on for her OCD and anxiety issues, she tended to fade into the background. Will was now dating the popular head cheerleader, Terri Del Monaco. Emma hated Terri; she thought that Terri was controlling and just a mean girl. Both were true and she wondered why Will was even with her. Not that she cared who Will was with of course, but she knew that he could do better. "You two can go and discuss studying times and work out a schedule in the hall," Ms. Kennedy suggested.

Will turned around in his seat and gave Emma a lopsided smile before standing up and walking out the door. Emma got out of her own seat and followed him. She smiled when he held the door open for her. Will was wearing a dark gray and blue raglan long sleeve shirt, jeans, and black Converse. Emma smiled, she couldn't help it. "Hi Will," she greeted, once the door was closed.

"Hey Emma," Will replied. "So…you're my tutor."

"Yes I am. Um, let me just check what you need help with real quick." Emma pulled a folded up paper out of her notebook and scanned it.

"What is that?" Will asked, watching her.

"It's just some stuff about your learning struggles that I got a few days ago when I heard I was tutoring you," Emma explained. Will bit his lip and looked down at the ground. "Not that you have learning struggles! It just has some notes on what classes you need…a little extra help with."

"Can you tell me what it says?" Will questioned, trying to peer at the paper.

Emma hesitated, she didn't want to hurt his feelings but she didn't want to lie to him either. "Okay…but this is the teachers talking, not me," Emma started. "Will needs tutoring in math, English, social studies, and science. He often misspells easy words and stutters when he reads out loud. If Will can't sound out a word, he often gives up," Emma paused, she thought back to all the times Will had to read out loud in class. It was true, he wasn't the best reader. "It's hit and miss with his homework, some days he does it, some days he doesn't. He gets frustrated with math and often skips steps in solving problems or forgets them. Please try to help Will become a better student, if you need help contact me," Emma finished.

Will ran a hand through his light brown curls, frustrated. "I-I don't try to be a bad student…I try really hard to get good grades but it just…it never happens," he stammered.

Emma was surprised, he looked defeated. Will was supposed to be the star but maybe he just needed some help. "Hey, we're going to change that…you and I. I'll help you, Will, don't worry," Emma assured him.

Will looked up, his stunning hazel eyes fixed on her brown ones. "Thank you," he whispered.

"So, uh, we need to figure out a schedule. I'm always free, nothing really going on…ever," Emma suggested.

"I just have football going on right now," Will said.

"Right," Emma agreed. She had already known that. Emma never went to any of the games, there was bound to be tons of germs everywhere but Will was a football god at their school. He had led them to the past two championships and won both. Yet, he was never arrogant like his other football buddies. "How often do you have football practice?" she asked, hopefully.

"Uh…" Will looked up at the ceiling thinking. "Tuesday and Thursday after school and Monday, Wednesday, Friday before school and then games on Friday nights. So…when is good for you?"

Emma smiled at him. "How about Monday and Wednesdays after school and maybe Saturday afternoons? If you're not busy that is, I mean, you're probably busy on Saturdays with your friends and all," Emma offered.

"That's great. I'll just tell my friends I'm busy on Saturdays now, they'll understand. Um, you can come to my house if you want," Will suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds great," Emma agreed. "So, um, where do you live? I need your address for tutoring sessions," Emma stammered.

"Oh right! Here I'll write it down," Will replied, pulling out a scrap of paper and a pen. Will scribbled down an address and handed it to Emma.

Emma glanced at the paper, it read; _375 Elmor Rd. _Emma noticed that he left the 'e' out of Elmore but she wasn't about to make him feel any worse. "Okay, thanks. I think that some tutoring will really help you, Will," Emma commented.

"Thanks. Uh, today's Monday…are you going to come over? You don't have to since it's short notice and all but I'd appreciate it," Will asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Emma smiled. "No problem, what time can I come over?"

"How about four-thirty?" Will suggested. They got out at three-thirty so that gave him an hour to clean up the house.

"That's great," Emma agreed, as the bell rang. "Well, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, bye Em," Will waved.

* * *

Will was walking home alone as usual. He was sixteen but he didn't have a driver's license like some of his friends. They offered him rides home for a while but Will always told them he'd rather walk and eventually they gave up. Honestly, he just didn't want to take his friends or girlfriend for that matter, home. Will's phone buzzed in his pocket, he pulled it out immediately. He sighed, finding that it was just Terri. "Hello?" Will answered.

"Hey hot stuff," Terri greeted. Will rolled his eyes, he hated when she called him that…especially in front of his friends.

"Hi Terri."

"The girls and I are at the mall…can you stop by?" Terri suggested. "I really miss you."

Will smiled. "I miss you too but I have um, tutoring, remember?"

"Can't you blow it off? You don't really want to spend time alone with that freak…she might be contagious you know," Terri muttered.

"Terri, don't be like that. You don't know her so don't be mean," Will argued, turning onto his street.

"Fine," she whined. "Where are you meeting her at?"

"My house," Will mumbled.

"What?" Terri screeched. Will winced, he hated when Terri got mad. "Will…you never ever have people over at your house. I thought you said your parents don't allow it or something."

"Um, this is tutoring so it's different," Will explained, walking down his driveway.

"Whatever, I don't know what your parent's problem is. It's not like you live in one of those tiny houses or something," Terri said, annoyed.

"I know," Will grumbled, unlocking the back door.

"Well, try not to die of boredom with that weirdo," Terri replied.

Will opened his mouth to reply but Terri had already hung up. Will stuffed his phone back in his pocket, he hated when Terri hung up without saying bye. Will dumped his backpack and Converse by the back door and went to find some cleaning supplies. If Emma was going to tutor him, he wanted to make sure that the house was clean.

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**So what did you think? Good or bad? Interesting or boring? Should I continue? Please leave a review telling me what you thought. If anyone's wondering, you'll find out more about Will's home life soon. The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll update. R&R! ;) **


	2. Chapter 2- First Tutoring Session

Chapter 2- First Tutoring Session

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, you guys are really nice! This chapter is Will and Emma's first tutoring session, so basically it takes place right where we left off. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

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"Grandma, just stay here, okay?" Will said, shoving last week's _Sports Illustrated _in the coffee table drawer.

"William…the house looks so clean," his grandma announced. It was true; the house was the cleanest it had been in a long time. Will had spent the last hour running around the house cleaning up for Emma. He knew that Emma had a cleaning condition or something, so he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I know, Grandma. Emma is coming over, remember?" Will replied, sitting down next to her.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Grandma Schuester cried.

"No, I'm dating Terri…you've never met her. Emma is going to tutor me," Will explained, placing a gentle hand on his grandma's shoulder.

"Tutor you? In what?" his grandma asked.

"Um, all my schoolwork," Will replied. "Did you take your medicine today?"

"Of course I did. William, you worry too much," she laughed. Will walked into the kitchen and opened the medicine cabinet, pulling out the days of the week pill organizer.

Will groaned when he saw the blue pill still in Monday's square. "Grandma, you forgot. Here, take it now."

Mrs. Schuester got up and walked into the kitchen. "It's no big deal, Will."

"It is to me," he mumbled, handing her a cup and the pill. She took the pill with a long drink of water before turning to face Will.

"See? I'm fine," his grandma assured him. Will looked through window and saw a silver Honda Odyssey rolling into their driveway. He glanced at the clock, it was four-thirty and Emma was right on time.

"Okay, she's here. I put on the TV in the den for you to watch for a little while," Will explained, rushing to the door.

"Okay, honey." Will's grandma walked into the den and plopped down on the sofa.

Emma had found Will's house easily. It was only four blocks away from hers. The only thing that surprised her was how small his house was. From the outside, it looked like it might be just a one-level home. Emma always thought that his family would have more than average money-wise because most popular kids families did. Will opened the door and smiled. "Hi Emma," he greeted.

"Hey Will," Emma replied. She had brought her backpack with her.

"Um, come in." Will closed the door behind her and took her backpack for her. "If you could just take your shoes off…my grandma doesn't like mud in the house."

Emma laughed. "No problem. Your house looks really clean." Emma looked around, marveling at the neatness.

"Yeah, well, I cleaned up right before you came," Will admitted.

"Thank you," Emma replied. Emma wondered if he did it because he knew of her cleanliness. "Your house is really nice."

"Not really," Will laughed. "It's just one floor; we have a small basement though."

"So…" Emma started.

"Oh right! Would you like a snack before we study?" Will offered, leading her to the kitchen.

Emma smiled. "Sure."

Will opened up some cabinets, motioning to food. "See anything you like?"

"Um, whatever you want is fine," Emma replied.

"You sure?" Will asked. Emma nodded, smiling. Will pulled out a package of Chips Ahoy cookies. "Is this okay?"

Emma stared for a second as she remembered that day in second grade. "Yeah…it's fine," she mumbled.

Will hummed as he grabbed two bowls and dumped a few cookies in each. "What would you like to drink?" Will asked, opening the refrigerator. "We have water, milk, and orange juice."

"Water's fine," Emma said, sweetly.

Will nodded and picked up the Dry-Erase marker that was attached to the white board, in their kitchen. He wrote _Mrs. Anderson –Grosheries. _Emma didn't know who Mrs. Anderson was and she assumed Will meant groceries. She wondered how the two were linked. "Um, you can wait in my room if you want," Will offered. "It's down the hall and the first door on the right."

"Okay," Emma agreed. Emma walked and found the door slightly open. She pushed open the door and stepped inside. The walls were all painted blue and there were a few posters on the wall. There was a Spiderman from when he was little she assumed, a Joe Mauer baseball one, and a Super Mario Bros. one. Emma smiled, his room was cute. There was a basketball hoop on the back of his door, a few _Sports Illustrated _magazines scattered on his desk, and a skateboard leaning on the wall. His room was quite small, well, that made sense; the house was pretty small overall. Emma glanced at his bed and something caught her eye. There was an acoustic guitar on the middle of his bed. Emma didn't know that Will was musically talented.

"Hey, I got the food," Will greeted, opening the door with his foot. Will placed the cups and bowls on the floor, dusted off his hands, and turned to face Emma. He noticed her looking at the guitar and mentally slapped himself for leaving it out.

"Do you play?" Emma asked, turning to face him.

"Play what?" Will repeated, playing dumb.

"The guitar."

"Oh…that. Well, a little bit…not much. I, um, must've left it out," Will stammered, grabbing the guitar and gingerly placing it under his bed.

Emma looked at him; almost reading straight through him and Will looked away. "I take it you sing, too?"

"Just…a bit," Will mumbled.

Emma could tell he was lying but didn't know why. "I won't tell anybody," she assured him.

Will looked up, a new sense of trust held in his eyes. "Thanks. So, um, want to get started?"

"Yeah, I was thinking that we could start with your English homework first," Emma suggested. Will nodded and sat on the floor, beside Emma.

Will dug through his backpack until he pulled out his English folder and a copy of _The Hunger Games. _"I have to write a paragraph on the last chapter I read of my independent reading book," Will announced.

"Okay. What's the book you're reading?" Emma asked, smiling.

"_The Hunger Games._ It's long," Will replied.

Emma laughed. "What just happened, Will?"

"Um, you laughed?"

"No, in the book," Emma smiled.

Will grinned, bashfully. "Oops, Katniss and Peeta just got to the Capitol."

"Okay, so maybe write about their journey there," Emma suggested.

"Good idea," Will agreed. He started writing on a loose leaf piece of paper.

"Do you mind if I look through your other homework to see what's next?" Emma asked.

"Nope, go ahead," Will smiled. After about ten minutes of silence, Will spoke up, "I'm done."

"Already? How long is it?" Emma questioned.

Will paused and counted his sentences. "Five sentences."

Emma debated if that was enough for his English class. "Okay…that's good but maybe next time you can try getting eight down."

"Okay, what are we doing next?" Will wondered.

"I was thinking social studies," Emma suggested.

Will hesitated and Emma guessed that it wasn't one of his best subjects. "I guess but all we have to do is read a paper about the war in Iraq," Will mumbled.

"That's easy, all you have to do is remember the important parts of the article," Emma stated, grabbing his paper.

"What are you doing?" Will asked, as Emma dug through her backpack.

"Finding something." Emma pulled out a yellow highlighter. "Here it is."

"A highlighter's going to do my homework?" Will laughed.

Emma smiled, rolling her eyes. "No, it's going to help you do it."

"I just have to read it."

"I know but use the highlighter to point out the important parts," Emma explained.

"Okay," Will agreed, taking the highlighter and paper from her. After a few minutes, Will stopped and handed the paper to Emma.

Emma laughed, half the paper was highlighted. "Um, this is all important?"

"Yeah…the war's important. I just wish it would end though," Will sighed.

"Did you understand all of the words?" Emma asked. She didn't want him to think that she thought he was stupid, but she could tell that reading and writing wasn't his strong suit.

"Um, yeah," Will lied.

"If you don't tell me what you don't understand, I can't help you, Will," Emma explained.

Will hesitated. "Some of the big words are…harder for me to read."

Emma nodded, understanding. "That's perfectly normal, don't worry. Do you that you could read me a sentence out loud?"

"Um, yeah," Will nodded. "The fort was…d-demo…demo-ol…I can't read that word," he sighed, frustrated.

"Let me see," Emma smiled. She leaned over and saw that the word was 'demolished.' "It's de-mo-lished."

"Demolished?" Will repeated, slowly.

"There you go," Emma said, encouragingly. "Will…do you think you might be um, dyslexic?"

Will's mouth opened but no sound came out. There was hurt and disbelief written across his face. "I'm not retarded!" he cried out.

Emma felt bad. She didn't want to make him feel stupid on their first session, she wanted to help him. "I never said you were. I just thought that maybe because…you have trouble with reading and writing. I'm sorry, forget I ever said anything," Emma said, softly.

Will's features softened and his lips curled into a smile. "It's okay, I understand. I just get kind of frustrated because like…I keep trying to read and the words just…don't make sense."

Emma placed a comforting hand on Will's shoulder and he looked up, surprised. He knew that she had issues with germs and touching people, he'd heard from Terri. Emma was just as surprised as Will. Usually she wouldn't even think of placing a hand on someone's shoulder, much less someone she barely knew. "What about you?" Will whispered.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"You have problems with germs…well; at least that's what I heard. That's why I cleaned up today," Will explained.

Emma blushed. It was nice that he cared enough to do that. "I-I have OCD," she muttered.

Will took note of her insecurity and took her hand in his. Emma looked down at their joined hands. Will noticed this and instantly realized. "Oh, I'm sorry…it was just a natural reaction," he apologized, about to move his hand when Emma squeezed it.

"It's okay and thank you…for being understanding. Most people think I'm weird," Emma admitted.

"It's no problem and they just don't know you, Em," Will said.

Emma smiled at his nickname. If someone had told her a week ago that Will Schuester would be holding her hand and having nicknames for her, she would've laughed. "You barely know me."

"Yeah but I feel like I do," Will confessed.

Emma blushed. "Okay, let's get started on your math. It's the last thing you have to do," Emma stated, letting go of his hand.

About an hour had passed; Will had finally completed his math homework. Emma could tell that it was a hard subject for him; he got frustrated a few times but she calmed him down. "You did great, Will!" Emma exclaimed, closing the book.

Will laughed. "It's because I had a great teacher."

"I'm proud of you though, those equations are hard," Emma assured him. "Are you sure you understand it?"

"Yeah," Will agreed. "Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it." Will picked up their bowls and cups and carried them to the kitchen.

"It's no problem, I had fun," Emma smiled.

"Me too."

"Are your parents home?" Emma wondered.

Will looked a little tense for a moment, and then relaxed. "Um, they're away right now…work, but my grandma's home."

"Can I meet her?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, of course," Will replied, happily. "She's in the den." Will led her into the den and there was his grandma sitting on the couch.

Will's grandma looked up at the two of them and smiled. "You must be Emma!"

"Emma this is my grandma, grandma this is Emma," Will introduced.

"Hi," Emma waved. "I'm Will's tutor."

"Hi dear! You can call me Jewell," Jewell cried. "Will, honey, she's so pretty."

Will blushed. "Um…yeah."

"Emma, would you like to stay for dinner? Will's making spaghetti," Jewell offered, smiling.

Emma laughed. "I would love to, let me call my mom." Emma walked out of the room, smiling.

"Grandma, she might've been busy," Will said.

"Oh hush, William. I was just asking what you were too afraid to," Jewell laughed.

Emma appeared in the doorway and Will looked down, sheepishly. He knew that Emma must've heard that last bit. "So…spaghetti?" Will offered.

"Sounds great," Emma smiled.

"Okay, I'll go get the water boiling," Will said, walking into the kitchen.

Emma followed him with Jewell following her. "I didn't know you could cook, Will," Emma commented.

"Oh, he's a great cook!" Jewell remarked.

Will rolled his eyes. "I'm decent."

Will dumped the pasta into the pot and walked over to the speakers. "Do you guys want music?" he asked.

"Sure," Emma agreed. Will nodded and plugged his iPod into the speakers dock. Ingrid Michealson's 'Everybody' blared through the speakers.

"Oh, I just love this song!" Jewell announced. "Dance with me, William!"

Will laughed and twirled his grandma around a few times. Will spun Jewell around one last time and turned to face Emma. "Your turn," he said, offering a hand.

Emma smiled and took his hand. Will spun her around and then took both of her hands and swayed with her. Emma laughed and Will smiled, he had never felt this type of happiness with Terri. As the song ended, Will spun Emma around one last time. "There you go, Cinderella," he laughed.

Emma smiled; he was definitely her Prince Charming. "I think that you should start the pasta," she whispered.

"I think you're right," Will laughed. For the next twenty minutes, Will was cooking while Emma and Jewell danced around the kitchen. "Okay…" Will said, scooping the pasta onto plates. "The pasta is ready…voila!"

Emma laughed and took the plates to the table for him. "This looks great, Will."

A few minutes later, they were all seated around the table and eating. "Good job, William," Jewell smiled.

"It tastes great, thanks for letting me stay for dinner," Emma said.

"Anytime," Will replied.

"So, how was Will's learning?" Jewell asked, eating.

"He's doing great, um, a big improvement already," Emma complimented.

"Really? He's always been a bit slow with the words," Jewell remarked.

"Well, everyone learns differently," Emma commented. "Einstein had trouble in school too."

"I thought Einstein was like really smart," Will wondered.

"He was but he was dyslexic," Emma stated. Will gave her a cute lopsided smile.

"You're comparing William to Einstein? She's a keeper, Will," Jewell remarked. Will and Emma both laughed, though Will believed what Jewell said.

About thirty minutes later, dinner was over and Will was walking Emma to her car. "Thanks a lot for coming, Em. I really appreciate you helping me out."

"No problem and thanks a ton for dinner," Emma smiled.

"You can come over anytime," Will offered.

"I had lots of fun with you, Will," Emma admitted.

"Yeah…who would've known that Emma Pillsbury was such a good dancer?" Will joked.

Emma laughed. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you," Will said, as Emma climbed into her car. As Emma drove down the driveway, Will waved and watched the car until it was out of sight. One thing was for sure, he hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? Please leave a review letting me know what you thought. This chapter was really fun for me to write. Yeah, I know right now Will's a little bit Mr. Mysterious but that will change soon. I'll try to update soon, the more reviews, the sooner I do. R&r! ;) **


	3. Chapter 3- Cookie Monster and Emma

Chapter 3- Cookie Monster and Emma Pillsbury

**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, you guys are so nice and I love hearing from all of you. I realized that I forgot to mention something in the 1****st**** chapter…this high school au takes place in present time, not the 90s. So, here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

It was Tuesday and school had just ended. Will slung his backpack over his shoulder and went to meet his friends at Terri's locker. He hadn't had a chance to talk to Emma all day and strangely, he kind of missed her. Will walked up to Terri's locker; his and her friends were already there. "Hey Terri," he greeted, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.

"Hi Will," Terri replied. "We were just talking about you…how did your session with the freak go?"

"Did she have a panic attack?" Ryan laughed. Will bit his lip, there was only so much he could take of this.

"You have to blow off the rest of this crap. Get your parents to email Ms. Kennedy or something," Cody suggested.

"Cut it out, okay? Emma's really nice so just stop, really," Will said, defensively. Terri's eyes grew wide and her friends exchanged shocked looks while Will's friends just shut up.

"Honey, what's wrong with you?" Terri asked, in a hushed tone. "I mean…I knew you were stupid but I didn't think that you were stupid enough to actually be nice to her." Their friends, including Terri, all laughed.

Will felt his face start to heat up and he glared ahead. The first thing his eyes connected with was a pair of soft brown Bambi eyes. Emma smiled and waved shyly at Will. Will smiled and broke through his group of friends, purposely shoving Ryan aside with his shoulder. "Come on, man, don't be like that!" Jensen called.

Terri's jaw dropped as Will didn't even turn around and continued walking towards Emma. "Is he really going to talk to Little Ms. Innocent right now?" she muttered.

"Looks like it," Cody replied. "Somebody has got to set him straight. He can't just be talking to her in public."

"I think he's mad because you called him stupid," Ryan suggested. Terri rolled her eyes and watched as Will walked up to Emma.

"Hey Em," Will greeted, walking beside her.

"Hi Will," Emma replied, a little surprised that he left Terri and his popular friends to talk to her. "I thought you had football practice today."

"I do, that's where I'm heading," Will smiled. "I just wanted to walk with you, if that's okay."

"I, um, of course it is. Are you okay? You looked a little upset back there," Emma asked, concerned.

"Just a little annoyed at Terri," Will mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Why?" Emma wondered. She wanted to shove the words back into her mouth as soon as she had said them.

"It's complicated," Will sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, you can tell me anything…I just want you to know that. I won't judge, I'll just listen," Emma said, softly. Will looked over at her and smiled. If only he could tell her anything.

"Well," Will started. "They were making fun of you but I stood up for you, don't worry. Um, then Terri got mad because I did and she called me stupid. I know that that's kind of dumb to get mad at but I really hate when people call me that, especially her." Will looked at Emma, expectantly, a glimmer of hope in his hazel eyes.

Emma was silent for a second. She was still shocked that Will would stand up for her, even after just one tutoring session. "Well, thank you for standing up for me…I appreciate it. I don't think that it's stupid to be mad for that, no, not at all. I just think that Terri…doesn't really realize these things. I don't think that you're stupid at all. You're really smart, Will, and really nice and that's all that matters," Emma assured him, offering a small smile.

"Thanks…it means a lot coming from you," Will admitted.

Emma blushed a little and turned to face Will. "The locker room's right here," she announced, motioning to the door in front of them.

"I know," Will smiled. "So, tutoring tomorrow at four-thirty again?"

"Yes, at your house or mine?" Emma asked.

"My house is good." Will glanced back at the door and then back to Emma. "Well, I gotta go to football now, bye," Will waved, taking a step to the door.

"Bye, see you tomorrow," Emma echoed. Will turned around to get one last glimpse of Emma while he was walking and smacked right into the door.

"Ow," Will mumbled, turning to face Emma again. Emma laughed, as Will turned to face her again, this time massaging his jaw. "That, that was the door," he stuttered, pointing.

"Yes, that would be the door," Emma laughed.

Will looked up at her, sheepishly. "Um, bye."

"Yeah, have fun at football," Emma smiled.

"Will do," Will replied, opening the door.

"Don't get hurt," Emma called, as he stepped into the locker room. Will grinned to himself, not once since he and Terri had started dating, had she ever said that. Honestly, she might like it more if he broke an arm or something. Will had always thought she liked him best when he was a bit weaker than her. That's why she always bragged about the fact that she was smarter than him. Will rolled his eyes to himself as he walked to his gym locker, greeted with pats on the back from teammates. Will smiled as he played with the dial on his locker. Just knowing that Emma cared for his safety was enough to keep him smiling all throughout practice.

* * *

The next day, Will was walking with Terri to lunch. Will swung their intertwined hands back and forth as they strolled down the hallway. "Stop it, Will! What are you? ADHD?" Terri whined.

"What am I doing?" Will sighed. Yesterday after football practice, Terri had called him and apologized for calling him stupid and making fun of Emma, he accepted her apology although he didn't really buy it.

"Swinging our hands," Terri wailed, dropping his hand. Terri looked up and noticed Will's hurt face. She stopped walking and turned to face him. Terri lifted his chin gently with her fingers. "Look, Will, I'm sorry but you just need to remember that we're on top of the school. You can't just go around frolicking without a care. Okay?"

Will nodded. "Okay, I get it. Sorry Terri."

"It's okay, honey. Are you busy after school?" Terri asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I have tutoring," Will explained.

"Right," Terri drawled. "Well, I have to go…call me later?"

"Of course," Will smiled. Terri stopped to give him a kiss before walking away with a flirtatious wave.

* * *

Emma knocked on Will's door at exactly four-thirty and waited for someone to answer. Emma smiled when she heard footsteps rushing to the door. Will threw the door open and grinned. "Hey Em," Will greeted, running a hand through his hair. "Come in."

Emma stepped inside and looked at Will. He was wearing dark khaki cargo pants and a thin white American Eagle hoodie. "How was your day?" Emma asked, sweetly.

"It was…" Will sighed. "It's better now."

Emma felt a blush creeping up her neck and she smiled. "That's good to hear." Emma glanced around the house. "Is Jewell here?"

"Yeah but she just crashed in her bed about an hour ago," Will explained. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"I'm good, um, want to get started?" Emma suggested. Will gave her a cute lopsided smile and Emma felt her heart speed up.

"That sounds good," Will agreed, leading the way into his bedroom. Once the two walked in, Emma immediately noticed something. Other than the fact that the room was really clean, Will had left his guitar out again. Meaning that he must've played it again recently, after their last session together.

"Were you playing the guitar again?" Emma asked, motioning to the instrument.

Will's hazel eyes flickered over to the guitar and then back to Emma. "Um, yeah, guess so."

"Could you play something for me?" Emma asked, smiling at him.

"Um, not right now. I-I'm not really that good and just…maybe another time," Will stammered, turning his back to her and pulling out his backpack.

"Okay but I'll take you up on that offer," Emma stated.

Will turned around, clutching a math folder. "What offer?"

"For you to play your guitar for me some day," Emma smiled. Will hesitated before a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"Do I have to sing too?" he laughed.

Emma tapped her chin, thoughtfully and Will burst out laughing. "I think that that would be wonderful," Emma replied.

"Okay, deal." Will stretched out his hand and enveloped Emma's hand in a loose handshake. Will looked back at his math folder and sighed.

"Tough math class?" Emma wondered.

"A bit…I just don't get it," Will mumbled, running a hand through his chestnut curls.

"Hey…" Emma placed a hand on Will's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay, I'll help you," she said, softly.

Will glanced at her and smiled. "You're the best tutor I ever had," he admitted.

"I'm the only tutor you've ever had," Emma challenged, smirking.

"But you're still better than any other tutor at this school," Will explained. Emma raised an eyebrow and Will smiled. "I just know it."

"In that case, let's get started on your math," Emma offered. As Emma was explaining the first problem, Will leaned closer to her. As he was looking over her shoulder, Emma wondered what a hug from him would be like. Will seemed like the type of guy that would surprise his girlfriend in the hall with a hug from behind. Something hit Emma in the back of her head, interrupting her thoughts. Emma turned her head to see what it was and found Will shoving a silver necklace back into his sweatshirt. Emma hadn't noticed that he wore a necklace before but now that she thought of it, she had seen that silver chain poking out of his shirts for years now.

"Sorry, it just fell out when I was leaning over," Will explained, rubbing the back of his neck or as Emma now noticed, necklace.

"What's on your necklace?" Emma asked.

"Oh nothing. Just a…team football thing," Will lied. He mentally cursed himself for coming up with the dumbest excuses.

"Why don't the other guys wear one?" Emma questioned.

Will bit his lip. "Only the quarterback does."

He could tell that she didn't believe him but he didn't want to explain any further. "Um, okay," Emma muttered. She was curious as to why he would so plainly lie to her.

Will rubbed his necklace again and looked up at Emma, shyly. "So…" he started.

"Oh right!" Emma exclaimed, digging into her backpack. "I have something for you; I think it'll help with tutoring." Emma pulled out a small brown leather notebook and handed it to Will. "I came up with this idea. So, you could bring this to all your classes and whenever you don't understand something you can write it down. That way I can help you with it at home," Emma explained.

Will looked up at Emma, a tender gaze held in his hazel eyes. "This is awesome, Em. Thank you and I will definitely use this. That was a great idea," Will praised.

Emma's cheeks turned a deep scarlet and she pushed a strand of hair from her face. "Thanks, Will."

Will's hands hovered over his khaki's pocket and his eyes lit up, remembering something. Will pulled out an old, beat-up Nokia cell phone from his pocket. "I was also wondering something," Will started. "Could I have your cell phone number? For tutoring and like…um, if you'd ever want to talk or text with me."

Emma smiled and whipped out her iPhone immediately. The way he had asked her was just too adorable and Emma was fearing that she might be developing a crush on Will. "Sure, no problem," Emma agreed, handing him her phone. "You can just enter your number in."

Will tossed her his phone and began typing in his number. He noticed that her only other contacts were her mom, dad, someone named James, someone named Katie, and a few aunts. Will was suddenly glad that he had asked. After a few minutes, Will and Emma swapped their phones back to each other. Will looked down at his screen and noticed that Emma had entered herself under Emma Pillsbury. "Emma Pillsbury…so professional. All of my other friends usually enter themselves as like 'blank is awesome' or 'blank is hot,'" Will grinned.

Emma smiled, noticing that he said other friends; meaning that she was now a friend. She looked down at her screen and laughed at what he wrote. "Cookie Monster?" she laughed.

Will nodded. "I thought you would know who it was by that…you can change it if you want."

"No, it's…perfect," Emma admitted, smiling at him.

Two hours later, Emma and Will had finished up all of his homework. She had helped him study a huge math test that he had on Friday and wished him luck with that. "You did great, today!" Emma exclaimed, putting her books back in her bag.

"Thanks…thanks for helping me out again. I think I might actually pass this science test," Will smiled, as they walked out of his room.

"I know you will," Emma assured him.

"Um, would you like to stay for dinner?" Will offered, motioning to the kitchen. "We could hang out after for a bit." Will glanced at the clock. "It's only six-thirty."

Emma smiled, weakly. "That's really nice of you but I have to go home. I have chores to do," Emma sighed.

"Saturday," Will stated.

Emma gave him a blank look. "Huh?"

"We have tutoring Saturday, right?" Will confirmed, as Emma nodded. "We can hang out then…only if you want to."

"Saturday sounds great," Emma agreed. In fact, Saturday had never sounded better.

"Okay, well, bye," Will said, as he opened the door for Emma.

"See you tomorrow," Emma waved.

"Tomorrow," Will mumbled, as Emma climbed into her car. Will wanted to zoom through the week to Saturday just so he could hang out with Emma. He was confused, weirdly, Emma felt like home to him.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? I'm sorry that I updated a few days late. I've been really busy. My mom just left to go see my grandpa while she still can. He has lung cancer and he just had another chemo (is that how you spell that?) today so hopefully that went well. Lol, I'm rambling about my personal life, sorry. I'll try to update as soon as I can but it might not be for a few days because I'm holding down the fort with my little siblings while she's away. Please leave a review. Thanks for all the kind ones last chapter. R&R! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4- Soldier

Chapter 4- Soldier

**Author's Note- Hey everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter, you guys are amazing! This is going to be a really long chapter, sorry. It's time to finally learn about Will. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

Thursday and Friday were a blur for Will. He barely saw Emma with the exception of handing her the journal back on Friday after the final bell rang. Will had wanted to talk to her when he was giving her back the journal but Terri had whisked him away by the arm before he could even say anything. Will had sent Emma a quick text after his football game, saying that she could come over at eleven if she wanted. Emma said that that was fine. It was now ten-fifty and Will was rushing around the house, making sure that it was decently clean. "Is Emma coming over again?" Jewell asked, looking up from her newspaper.

"Yes, Grandma. I told you that last night, remember?" Will reminded her, plopping down on the sofa.

"Of course I remember, I was just checking that you did," Jewell smiled. Will rolled his eyes but laughed anyways. "So, tell me more about this Emma girl."

"Well, I don't really know much about her," Will said, wondering why his grandma was so hung up on him and Emma lately.

"Then how come you're always talking about her now? After two tutoring sessions?" Jewell challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Will blushed. "She's really been helping me out with my homework."

"Is that all? I think you have a little crush," Jewell smirked. Will rolled his eyes but he could feel his cheeks turning red. "Yup, you're cheeks are turning red, honey."

"That's because she's my friend and…you don't think of your friends that way. It would be weird," Will stammered. "Plus, I have a girlfriend!"

Jewell laughed at her grandson getting all flustered. "Sweetie, calm down. I was just taking note of your…budding friendship," she assured him.

Will nodded, seeing Emma's Honda appear in the driveway. "She's here!" Will exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and rushing to the door.

"Budding friendship, indeed," Jewell smiled. Will ignored her comment and opened the door, happily.

"Hi Emma," he greeted, taking her backpack as she stepped inside.

"Hi Will," Emma replied, slipping off her ballet flats.

"You look nice today," Will complimented. Jewell scoffed loudly from the den and Will felt the tips of his ears heat up. "Don't mind her."

Emma smiled, sensing his embarrassment. "You look pretty good yourself," she admitted. Will was wearing a white ringer t-shirt with blue trim and gray Nike sweatpants. Emma was dressed in dark blue skinny jeans and a green long sleeve shirt.

"So, want to go to my room and start?" Will suggested, walking down the hall.

"Of course," Emma agreed, as Jewell walked out of the den to greet her.

"Why hello, Emma!" Jewell exclaimed, smiling.

"Hi Jewell, it's nice to see you again," Emma replied, politely.

"Same goes for you." Jewell glanced at Will and winked. "Well, I'll let you two go ahead."

"Okay," Emma agreed, following Will into his room. The guitar was out again but this time Emma didn't say anything about that. Will's football jersey was lying on his bed, he was number seven. Will sat down on his bed and Emma sat down on a bean bag.

"So, how was your rest of the week?" Will asked, smiling. "Do anything fun?"

Emma looked up at him, caught off guard by his question. Truthfully, tutoring him was the only fun she'd had this entire week. "Um, no not really. How was your football game? Did you win?" Emma replied, kindly.

Will's boyish charm kicked in as he replied. "Yeah! We won by a lot. It was 54-12, we pounded Caramel High."

Emma noticed that his hazel eyes lit up as he spoke about his football game. It made Emma wish she could've come. She had never been to a high school football game before because of the huge crowd and all the bacteria. "How many touchdowns did you score?" she questioned.

"I ran it in twice and I threw it in three times," Will said, humbly. He acted like he didn't even score at all. "But it was really a team effort. Ryan and Jensen were amazing last night," he added.

Emma laughed. "You were obviously the star last night."

"Maybe just a little bit," Will mumbled, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Would you ever like to come to one of the games? I'm pretty tight with the quarterback, could get you some front row seats," Will offered, playfully.

Emma laughed again. Will's kindness was to no end. "Um, maybe. I don't know…with my OCD and all. Uh, you know, big crowds, lots of germs," Emma stuttered.

Will nodded, understanding. "No, no, I totally get it. I'm not trying to force you to go. I just think it would be nice if I could score a touchdown and then point to you up in the stands," Will admitted.

Emma blushed and Will bit his lip, wondering if he said too much. "That would be nice," Emma agreed. It was really sweet that he had said that. "How about this? I'll go to a game after you sing me a song. That way it's a win-win," Emma suggested.

Will's face fell for a quick second. "How is it a win-win?"

"We both can overcome our fears," Emma explained, nodding.

"I-I'm not afraid of playing for you," Will stammered, rubbing the back of his necklace.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "What would you like to call it, tough guy?"

Will could feel his cheeks and ears heating up. "I don't know," he mumbled.

"It's not a big deal," Emma assured him. "We both have things to overcome and we're going to help each other, okay?"

Will nodded. "Okay."

Emma smiled and reached into her backpack, producing the notebook. "I have to talk to you about something," Emma mentioned.

"About what?" Will questioned, smiling mischievously.

"Your entries in the notebook I gave you." Emma flipped to the first page. "Not that I didn't like them or anything but I want to make sure it's not distracting you even more."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Will smiled.

Emma cleared her throat. "Let's read the first entry, shall we?" she joked. Will smirked and leaned forward, holding his chin in his hands. "_Hi Emma. I'm in 1__st__ hour science right now and it's so boring. I'm writing to tell you that I have no idea how to find an object's force. Well, at least I think that's what Mrs. Danko's talking about. I really can't wait until Saturday for tutoring. Also, I really want cookies right now. Science makes me hungry. –Will,_" Emma paused. "That was just in first hour Thursday. It looks like you wrote to me every hour on both days. Most of the entries had nothing to do with school, like this one. _Hey. I really wish you were in my history class right now. It is so boring! Terri keeps shooting me looks, I have no idea why. I can tell you one thing, when I grow up I'm never going to teach history. Ever. What's the point of talking about dead people? I'd rather be talking to you. I think talking about dead people with you is more fun than sitting here. Would you like mac and cheese for lunch on Saturday? Also, what do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor? Or something smart probably. I'll be lucky to snag a job at McDonald's. Terri's glaring at me again. –Will._"

Will tapped his chin. "Now that I think of it, you'd be a great guidance counselor, Em."

Emma smiled, sweetly at him. "Well, thank you, Will but you're missing the point. You can't be writing in this journal all class," Emma explained.

Will rolled his eyes. "I was practicing writing."

"You spelled about half the words wrong, Will."

"I did?" Will sighed.

"Yeah but I could still understand what you were writing so that was an improvement," Emma assured him. "Anyways, I do appreciate the friendly notes. But I have a compromise."

"Compromise," Will repeated.

Emma nodded. "It's an agreement so that both people get what they want. So, you can write whatever you want as long as you do have one thing that you don't understand in class in the note. So, like the first note would be okay. Agreed?"

Will grinned. "Fine but I might be not understanding stuff more often now."

Emma rolled her eyes, laughing. "Very funny, mister."

"I agree as long as you reply," Will suggested.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked.

"I'll write to you during the day and I can give it to you after school. Then you can read what I wrote and write your own stuff to me. Then the next day, you give it back to me in homeroom," Will explained.

Emma smiled. Will Schuester might already be the best friend she ever had. Not that she had had many friends in the past. "That sounds fun," Emma whispered, lost in her own thoughts about Will for a moment. "Well, do you want to get started on your homework?"

"Sure." Will pulled out his copy of _Romeo and Juliet_ for English. "Why do we have to read this when everyone already knows the end?" he asked, handing the book to Emma.

"Because it's a classic," Emma laughed.

"Do you think that you would ever die for someone out of love?" Will wondered, looking at her with adoring hazel eyes.

Emma thought for a second. "I don't know, it's a pretty crazy thing to do."

"I would," Will admitted. "In a heartbeat."

Emma nodded, she knew he would. Will was just that kind of person. "I know you would. You're a hopeless romantic, Will."

"Is that good or bad?" Will smiled.

"It's wonderful," Emma confessed.

"Well, in that case, let's get reading." Will opened the book and began reading out loud but Emma was still thinking about what he had just said. Emma knew that in the future if she was someone like Will or even the small chance that she was with Will, she would die for him.

* * *

"Come on, Will," Emma pushed. "Just sound it out." They were in the middle of doing his social studies homework and Will had been trying to read the word 'psychopath' for the past ten minutes.

"It's not that easy, Emma," Will grumbled.

"Yeah, it is. That's how everyone does it," Emma challenged. She regretted the words as soon as they tumbled from her mouth. Emma knew that Will was a bit slower than everyone with his schoolwork.

"Well, I'm not like everyone!" Will cried. "Can't you see? I'm freakin' retarded!" Will jumped up from his bed and storm out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Will, wait," Emma called but it was too late. Will was already out in the hall or wherever he went.

Emma waited for five minutes before walking out of the room to find him. She walked into the den first to see if Jewell had spotted him. "Hey Jewell. Um, have you, by any chance, seen where Will went?" Emma asked.

"Poor boy's in the bathroom, probably just real angry or frustrated," Jewell replied.

Emma's hand flew to her mouth, concerned for Will. "I-I didn't mean to make him mad…oh God, I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not, honey," Jewell smiled. "What he's going through has nothing to do with you."

"I'm not following," Emma murmured.

"Today's a pretty rough day for him, has been for the past two years," Jewell explained. "He might get a little more frustrated than usual."

"Why?" Emma wondered, quietly.

"You should hear it from him, not me. Go on," Jewell suggested. Emma glanced down the hall. "It's the second door on the left, dear."

"Thanks," Emma mumbled, rushing to the bathroom. She knocked on the door twice. "Will…it's me. Will you please come out? I'm really sorry."

Will walked out with a sad smile on his face. His eyes were red rimmed and Emma was shocked. Had he been crying? "'s okay," Will mumbled, walking back into his room with her following close behind.

"No, it's not. I really…I wasn't thinking at all…you're not retarded," Emma apologized.

Will nodded. "It's fine, Em. I wasn't mad at you. And I should be the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you back there."

Emma noticed that the spark in his hazel eyes has disappeared and Emma wanted it back more than anything right now. She knew something was wrong. "Why were you mad? You can tell me anything, remember? No judgment, just a friend you can count on," Emma reminded him.

Will rubbed his eyes with the pads of his palms and ran a hand through his undisciplined curls. "You don't want to hear about my issues, Em," Will commented, willing himself to pull it together. "Emma…" Will started.

"Yeah?" Emma muttered, wishing he would just tell her what was going on.

"What are your parents like?" Will asked, offering a half smile.

Emma was a bit surprised at the strange question but answered anyways. "Um, well, my dad's really nice. He's pretty funny and never strict. Uh…he has red hair like me but has deep blue eyes."

"Where does he work?" Will wondered, a faraway look in his eyes.

"He works at a bank. I don't know exactly what he does there," Emma laughed.

Will smiled a bit and rubbed his left eye. "And your mom?"

"She has blond hair and green eyes…don't quite know how I ended up with brown ones. Well, she's really nice and she's a good cook…like you. Um, she's a stay at home mom, always has been. That's about all that I can think of," Emma explained, smiling. Emma was a bit unsure of Will's current mood. It seemed like she was walking on eggshells around him.

"That sounds like a great family," Will concluded, finally making eye contact with her. "Have any siblings?"

"Yes, two actually. I have a younger brother, James, who's in eighth grade. I also have an older sister, Katie, who's a senior at our high school," Emma replied. Will nodded, recognizing them as the two names in her phone.

"They sound fun," Will mused, smiling sadly.

"Will, what's wrong?" Emma asked. "Please tell me."

"Nothing's wrong, Em. I just wanted to know about your family," Will replied, softly.

Emma made a realization. If he wanted to know about her family so much, maybe it was because he had issues with his own. Come to think of it, Emma had never seen his parents and never heard of any siblings. All she knew about was his grandma, Jewell. "Will, where are your parents?" Emma whispered.

Will mumbled something incoherent as he buried his face in his hands.

"What did you say?" Emma asked, sweetly.

Will took a deep breath. "My dad's in Iraq and I don't know where my mom is," he mumbled into his hands.

Emma froze. She expected that they were just workaholics or something but Will's answer puzzled her. If his dad was in Iraq, he was probably a soldier. As for his mom, well, that was a whole different question. Emma got up on the bed next to Will and placed a small hand on his shoulder. "Um, I'm sorry to hear that but what exactly happened?" Emma wondered. "Not to be nosy and all but sometimes it just helps to get it all out," she quickly added.

Will freed his face from his hands and looked up at her, pain floating in a deep sea of hazel. He hesitated and Emma gave his shoulder a squeeze. "W-well, uh, it's a long story," Will replied, quietly.

"I'm here for you," Emma assured him. Never had she imagined that Will would be sitting next to her, broken and lost.

"Okay," Will started. He inhaled a shaky breath and looked down at the ground for a moment. "My parents met in college and hit it off right away. They met in their junior year and got married right after they both graduated. My dad wasn't really sure what he wanted to do with his life and a few weeks after the wedding, he decided to enlist."

"In the army?" Emma interjected.

Will nodded. "In the army. My mom wasn't too sure about it at first but they were in love and she agreed. A week after he left, my mom found out she was pregnant with me. My dad was allowed a two week leave every six months but he was able to come home when I was born. They thought it wouldn't be so bad with him going back and forth all the time. He was allowed to stay for two months when I was born but after that he left. My mom did a great job with me and she had my grandma to help her out. She's always lived with us; Jewell's my dad's mom. So, we were always a bit behind financially but we pulled through. I missed my dad of course but I was always marking the days on the calendar until his next leave," Will explained.

"That…I'm so sorry," Emma muttered, no other words seeming appropriate.

"Don't be, it's out of my control. In sixth grade, when I was eleven, my mom found out she was pregnant with my younger brother, Miles," Will continued, the faraway look returning to his eyes.

Emma was shocked once more. Will had a younger brother? Then why hadn't she ever seen him around? "You have a little brother?" Emma repeated.

"Yeah," Will mumbled. "A few months after she had him, things began to fall apart. My mom and dad started arguing even though they were millions of miles away. She wanted him to quit the army; he could've got an honorable discharge or something. My dad didn't want to. He thought he was doing what was right for the country by serving but my mom had had enough. She no longer looked forward to his letters or rare phone calls or even his leaves. I was confused, I was only eleven. I didn't know why mom was suddenly always mad at dad. By the summer of sixth grade, she broke."

Emma rubbed her hand in circles on Will's back. She knew it couldn't be easy for him to tell her all this. "I'm sorry," she whispered again.

"I was the man of the house, Em. It was no longer her looking after Miles and I, it was me. She would barely talk to us; just hole up in her room all day. She didn't go to sports games anymore or take us places. She quit her part-time job at Sheets-n-Things, leaving us with less income than before. I was doing everything; cooking, cleaning, watching over Miles, her, and Jewell. My grandma helped, she did all she could but she's doesn't have the greatest health. She bought us groceries and I would do just about everything else, Em. Do you know what it's like to be eleven and care for a baby and your mom? All while knowing that your dad is constantly in danger?" Will continued, sighing.

"No and I wish you didn't have to know either," Emma whispered, wrapping her arm around Will.

"It was horrible. It continued all throughout seventh grade. I was the kid whose parents never showed at conferences, whose parents didn't even know the PTO existed, the kid who hated when we made stuff for Father's Day and Mother's Day," Will paused, leaning into Emma's arm a bit. "In eighth grade, things got a bit better. The public library let me get a job there even though I was only thirteen. I worked Monday-Friday before school. They let me in real early and I'd sort out the books for them. The librarians loved me and they paid me ten bucks an hour. I worked a few hours on Saturday and another few on Sunday too. Usually made over a hundred dollars a week. That really helped. But my mom was getting worse. The only time she seemed half alive was when my dad came back on leave, it's the only time she would smile all year. My dad knew things were bad but he still stayed in the army. He'd tell me 'you're the man of the house now, buddy.' If only he knew how much of a scared little boy hid behind that man," Will said. Emma wrapped her arm around him tighter, letting him fall into her shoulder.

"You were…still are…a man, Will. You're a soldier, Will, a real one," Emma replied, caressing his face as he shut his eyes.

"That's what she used to call me," Will mumbled.

"Who?" Emma asked.

"My mom. She'd say 'you're my soldier, Will.' Or just call me it like it was my first name. 'Soldier, how was basketball?' she'd ask. I loved when she called me that. It made me feel like I was a real soldier not a little kid. She gave me the nickname when I was four and kept calling me it all throughout my life, no matter how old I was," Will smiled. Emma smiled, knowing that Will could smile at this made her happy.

"That's cute," Emma replied.

Will nodded. "Ready for the worst part?" Will asked, forcing himself to make a joke.

Emma grimaced, nodding. Although she wasn't really sure if she was. "Go ahead."

"In ninth grade, a month after I turned fourteen, it happened. Um, it was two years ago today. Exactly a month after I turned fourteen, she did it. I still don't know why. Maybe she thought that once I was in high school, I'd be able to handle it. I wasn't, still don't think I am. I woke up one morning…" Will took in a shaky breath and looked away from Emma. "She was gone." Will mentally cursed himself for letting his voice break on the last word. He didn't –no couldn't –cry in front of Emma. Emma heard the crack in his voice and pulled him closer, as if to stay that she'd never let go of him. "She, she, my…mom took Miles and left us. I don't know why. She didn't tell us where she went, just left a note on the fridge saying 'Will –I love you. You're a great kid and I'm really sorry. Take care of your grandma for me. I know you'll be fine; you always have been a soldier. My soldier. Love, Mom.' I didn't know what to do. I told my grandma and I missed school that entire week. Jewell called the police and they looked for her and Miles but couldn't find them. My dad came home for a month and stayed with us. But he still had to go back to the army. It seemed like everybody was leaving me…everyone. The police eventually dropped the case and Jewell is now my legal guardian. I've been taking care of her and I for two years now. My dad's sister helps us pay the bills and we're doing okay just like we always have. Just getting by. My dad still comes home every six months but he never stays. It's okay, I've got used to it by now. No one stays in my life, people tend to just come and go," Will said, softly.

Emma ran her hand through his chestnut curls and wished she could do something or anything to stop his pain. "I…I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," Will mumbled, his bottom lip quivering. "I-I just don't get it. She took Miles but not me…I don't understand how you can pick one child over another. We still haven't even heard from either of them and Miles is six now. I know that I wasn't the best kid but I tried, really did. But I guess…I wouldn't pick me either."

Emma's heart broke at Will's words. "Will…I would pick you. I just want you to know that. You're amazing; don't ever think that you're not good enough."

"You're the first person I told, Em. No one else knows any of this. No one, not even Terri. So, um, keep this between us?" Will admitted.

"Of course," Emma murmured. Emma waited for tears to fall from Will's glassy eyes but none did. Emma knew that his mom was right, he was a soldier. Emma cradled Will in her arms and whispered sweet nothings in his ear for almost thirty minutes before Will sat up.

"Emma," Will started, a smile finally returned to his face. "You're the best friend I ever had."

"Same for me," Emma admitted. "But you've only known me for less than a week, Will."

"Well, fine then. It took me less than a week to find a best friend in you," Will smiled. Emma blushed, amazed at his kindness.

"Thank you," Emma grinned.

"No…thank you. For listening. And you know…making me feel better. I'm pretty sure that none of my other friends would've done that for me," Will admitted, the spark returning to his eyes.

Emma nodded. "Trust me, I know how it feels. I know how exactly how it feels to cry in the shower so no one can hear you. To wait until everyone falls asleep so you can fall apart, for everything to hurt so bad that you just want it all to end. I know exactly how it feels."

Will looked up at her, wondering if he was that obvious. "Y-your OCD? Is that your reason?" he questioned.

"Always has been," Emma smiled weakly. "Sometimes I get so frustrated…like you but I remember that someone out there already has it worse…someone like you."

Will smiled and took Emma's hand. "I have an idea," he started.

"William! Emma! I made mac and cheese!" Jewell called.

Will shrugged. "Guess she made lunch for us, we have to eat first."

Emma laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

Lunch was enjoyable for everyone. Will, Emma, and even Jewell spent the entire time laughing and talking about the randomest things. This horrible day was actually becoming fun for Will. After lunch, Will and Emma offered to wash the dishes and Jewell went to take a nap. "Okay…here's my idea," Will smiled, wiping his wet hands on a towel. "But we need two pieces of paper and pens."

"Okay," Emma agreed. "Give me a second." A minute later, Emma dashed into the room, carrying loose leaf paper and two pens. "What's your great idea?"

Will took paper and a pen from her and took a seat at the kitchen table as Emma sat beside him. Will scribbled something on the top of his page and then handed it to Emma.

"Ten Reasons Why," Emma read. "What does that mean?"

"I think that anytime that either of us are feeling bad we should write down ten reasons. Ten reasons why things are good, ten things to live for, anything like that," Will explained.

"I'm impressed," Emma smiled. "That sounds great."

The two worked in silence for a few minutes before Will spoke up. "I'm done, are you?"

"Yup," Emma agreed. "Want to hear my list?"

"Of course," Will replied.

"Number one, there are still many books I haven't read," Emma declared.

Will laughed. "Smartie pants."

"What did you say?" Emma blushed.

"Nothing," Will smirked.

"Number two, Taylor Swift isn't done making music. Number three, I have a house. Number four, I have clothes. Number five, I have a loving family and friends. Number six, I haven't graduated from college yet. Number seven, I'm not a guidance counselor. Number eight, kids are starving right now. Number nine, people are entering the world as I speak. And number ten, someone out there needs me," Emma finished, smiling.

Will clapped. "Well done, Em."

"Your turn," Emma smiled.

"Number one, there are plenty of chocolate chip cookies in the world," Will announced as Emma laughed. "Number two, my grandma is still here. Number three, I haven't passed a math class since seventh grade. Number four, I haven't beat all the _Mario _games. Number five, people have it much worse than me. Number six, football season isn't over. Number seven, I haven't sung for you yet," Will paused and Emma blushed. "Number eight, my mom and Miles are still out there somewhere. Number nine, my dad's still fighting. Number ten, I have the amazing Emma Pillsbury as my best friend."

Emma's cheeks turned and deep scarlet and she laughed with Will about the last one. "I guess my list should be eleven things…I have the awesome Will Schuester as my best friend," Emma laughed.

"Thank you," Will smiled. "What do you want to do now?"

"Um," Emma started as her cell buzzed. Emma pulled out her iPhone to see that she had a text from her mom. "Ugh, my mom wants me home so that I can run errands with her," Emma groaned.

Will's face fell before he smiled again. "Bummer," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Emma agreed, picking up her list. The two of them walked to the front door and Emma put on her shoes and backpack, ready to go. "Well, I'll see you again on Monday," she said, as Will opened the door.

Will walked her to her car door and smiled at her. "See you Monday," Will replied.

"Yeah…" Emma mumbled.

"Well, do you have the journal?" Will asked, smiling.

"Of course," Emma grinned.

"I'll expect some entries by Monday," Will laughed.

"I think that can be arranged," Emma smirked. Before any of them could speak again, Emma wrapped her arms around Will and pulled him into a loving hug.

Will hugged her back immediately and it felt good. It felt good to know that Emma might just stay in his life for a little while. "It's all going to be okay, Soldier," Emma whispered into his chest.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Interesting or boring? Sorry this chapter was so long but I didn't want to break it into little bits and pieces. What did you guys think of Will's story? Was it really stupid? Please let me know in a review. I just spoke to my mom on Skype and she said that my grandpa's chemo went well and that he's doing better. Thanks for all the people who gave kind words about him in reviews, I really appreciate it. I'll try to update soon. R&R! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5- Just Because

Chapter 5- Just Because

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the kind reviews last chapter, I love you guys! I got a lot of guest reviews last chapter, so I really appreciate that anonymous people are leaving comments too. Sorry that it took almost a week to update :P. I was busy with basketball, the season just started for me. Last chapter took place on Saturday, so now it's Sunday, if anyone forgot. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

The rest of Saturday had passed by pretty quickly for Will. As soon as Emma had left, Terri had called him and dragged him along to the mall with their friends. Will had found himself wanting to go home as soon as he had left. It wasn't that he didn't like Terri anymore…it was just that, well, once he knew what hanging out with Emma was like; Terri couldn't even compare. With Emma, it felt like he could just be himself and she wouldn't judge him. It was like everything was so innocent with her, nothing was complicated and she whisked all of his worries away. And right now, that was exactly what Will needed.

It was now seven at night on Sunday and Will was out working like usual. He had spent his Sunday like he always did; church, spending time with Jewell, and singing to himself in his bedroom. He had been practicing his song for Emma but in his mind, he was still horrible. Will had sent Emma a text before he went to church, thanking her again for yesterday, but she still hadn't replied. "Will?" Cole said, stopping the van. "Hello?"

Will bolted upright in his seat, he had been zoning out while thinking of Emma once again. "Sorry man…just spaced out for a second there," Will mumbled, turning to face his friend.

"You've been spacing out for the past hour, Will." Cole glanced at the van's clock. "Come on, this is our last delivery then we can go home. Just give them their food and be nice," Cole instructed, handing over the box and bill.

"I know, I know," Will replied, grabbing the items and hopping out of the car. He hummed to himself as he walked up the drive. Will hopped up the steps and rang the doorbell once. He heard footsteps running to the door and waited as it was being unlocked. A woman –probably around thirty-seven or so-answered the door. She was very pretty with blond hair and piercing jade eyes. Will immediately wondered if this was Emma's mom. She could be, she matched her description. Plus, this house was pretty huge and he would guess that Emma's family had a lot of money. "Hello ma'am, I have the pizza you ordered," Will smiled.

The woman smiled back. Will heard a scream in the background and the lady turned around. "Could you excuse me for a moment? I'll have my daughter pay you," she asked. Will nodded. "Thanks a lot," the woman said, running down a hall.

Will rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for the daughter to appear. "Will?" a familiar voice said, breaking him out of his thoughts. His hand snapped up to find Emma in the doorway, dressed in navy Abercrombie sweatpants and a gray Hollister sweatshirt.

Will's face broke out into a grin. "Hi Emma," he started. "I-I have your pizza."

"I can see that," Emma laughed. "Nice hat."

Will pulled off his Tony's Pizza hat and stuffed it in the back pocket of his Levi's. He just noticed that he had met Emma's mom while wearing jeans, a Tony's Pizza sweatshirt, black Converse, and a baseball cap. It was definitely not the first impression he was going for. Will blushed. "Um, yeah. This is like required for work, so yeah."

"I was just teasing," Emma smirked. "So, you deliver pizzas?"

"Oh. Yeah," Will replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Your mom seems nice."

Emma smiled. "You barely even met her, Will. Here, I can go get her so she can properly meet you," Emma suggested, turning around.

"No," Will cried. Emma raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to meet her like this. It's embarrassing."

Emma smiled, shaking her head. "Embarrassing how?"

"Um, she already knows that you're tutoring me and now she's seen me delivering pizzas with the retarded hat," Will explained. "I think it would be better if I was wearing something nicer."

Emma laughed. "You want to look nice for my mom?"

Will rolled his eyes. "No, for you. So, she'd approve of who her daughter is hanging out with."

Emma felt her cheeks heat up. It was really sweet of Will to think like that. It made her think of something a boyfriend would do, if she had one. "Will, you look fine. She'll love you, come on," Emma pleaded.

Will sighed. He didn't want to look 'fine' for Emma, he wanted to look amazing. "Okay but wait. We should probably pay for the pizza first. You know, since Cole's out in the car waiting."

"Oh right, sorry," Emma replied, handing him the money.

Will pushed the money back into her hands. "It's on me."

"You can't do that," Emma protested, though she was smiling. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

Will gave her a cute lopsided smile. "Tony gives me a free pizza every week. I'll just use this as my free one," Will explained. Emma hesitated, looking from Will to the pizza and then back again. "Please."

"Okay, fine," Emma grinned.

"Yes!" Will exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. Emma rolled her eyes, laughing hard. "I'll go talk to Cole."

Emma looked at the van; a boy with wavy acorn-brown hair was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, probably listening to music. She couldn't recognize him. "Is he one of your football friends?" Emma asked, knowing he probably wasn't. All the football players were highly popular at their school and if she didn't know this kid, then he wasn't.

"Nope. I play soccer with him; we're both on the varsity school team. He's a senior though so he drives," Will explained, hooking his thumb towards the van.

"You can't drive?" Emma questioned.

"Uh, I'll explain later," Will mumbled. He held up one finger before jogging down the steps to the van. "Hey Cole," Will greeted, placing his elbows on the rolled-down window and sticking his head in the car.

"Hey…what's up? You were talking to that girl for a while, you know her?" Cole asked.

"Yeah. She's the girl who's tutoring me, Emma's her name," Will informed him.

Cole smirked. "So that's the girl that you're crazy for." Will had told Cole a little bit about Emma but not too much. Cole was convinced that Will was in love.

"She's just my friend," Will protested. "Anyways, I'm going to hang out with her for a bit. So, can you just drive back and tell your dad?"

Tony was Cole's dad so Cole was always hanging around the pizza parlor. "No problem but remember, you have a girlfriend," Cole teased.

"I wouldn't forget about Terri," Will replied, honestly. And he wouldn't, Will wasn't that kind of guy.

"Okay…" Cole started the car. "See you later, man." The car pulled away and drove down the street as Will ran back to Emma's door.

"Come on, Will," Emma greeted, once he reached the door.

"I'm coming and are you sure you want to do this right now?" Will replied, uneasily.

"Yes, I'm sure. I look like crap, so it's okay," Emma assured him.

Will shook his head. "You look beautiful," he admitted.

Emma's cheeks immediately turned a deep scarlet. "I-I…thank you. Um, come in," Emma stuttered.

Will stepped inside the door and shrugged off his Converse. Emma smiled; she didn't even have to ask him to. "It's so big," Will admired, glancing around at the house. It was a big house in general which made it a lot bigger than anything that Will was used to.

"Thanks," Emma replied. She tapped his arm. "I think that they're all in the kitchen…it's this way." Will followed Emma to the kitchen. There was a counter where a middle school age boy and Emma's dad were sitting, Emma's mom was preparing a salad, and an older high school age girl was leaning against the fridge; texting someone. "Hey mom," Emma greeted, as everyone looked up.

"Hey honey…who's your friend?" Emma's mom wondered, smiling. Emma set the pizza on the counter and handed the cash back to her mom, who raised an eyebrow. "I thought you paid…" she mumbled.

Emma shook her head. "Um, this is Will Schuester, everyone. He's the guy I'm tutoring and the pizza delivery boy," Emma introduced.

Will nodded. "Hi, nice to meet you all."

"Hey! I know you," James exclaimed. "You're the quarterback!"

"That's James," Emma muttered. Will nodded, remembering what she told him before. James was in eighth grade and the other girl must be Katie, the senior.

"Yeah, I am," Will grinned.

Now Rusty, Emma's dad, turned to face Will. "You've get a heck of an arm, bud," he commented, holding out his hand.

Will smiled. "Thanks." He took Rusty's hand and shook it, firmly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Will. Emma's told us a lot about you," Rose, Emma's mom, greeted.

Will froze and glanced at Emma, nervously. He was praying that Emma really hadn't told them all what he told her yesterday. She wouldn't, would she? He specifically told her not to tell anyone, anyone at all. Emma could see the fear in Will's eyes and she quickly shook her head as Will nodded, calmly. "Good things, I hope," Will laughed.

"Great things," Katie smirked, as Emma blushed. Katie and James looked almost nothing like Emma. Katie had long wavy blond hair and green eyes and was almost an exact replica of Rose. James had spiky blond hair and sapphire blue eyes.

"So, how's football season going? I've gone to a few of the games, you were amazing against Caramel," Rusty mentioned. Will's hazel eyes lit up as he talked with James and Rusty about football.

As the boys were talking, Rose pulled Emma to the side. "Why didn't you pay? I told you to," Rose questioned.

"Um, Will gave it to me…for free," Emma mumbled, feeling a blush creeping up her neck.

Rose glanced at Will who was still engaged in football talk and smiled. "He seems really sweet."

Emma wanted to say, 'yeah, he is.' But she didn't want to spark a whole conversation like that in front of Will. "Mmhmm," Emma mumbled.

"Can he stay for dinner?" Rose asked.

Emma thought about Jewell and the time and shook her head. "Probably not."

Rose rolled her eyes, not understanding Will's responsibilities. "Will you just ask him?"

"Sure," Emma replied. Honestly, she really did want him to stay for dinner but didn't want to get in the way of his responsibilities. Emma walked up to Will and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and smiled at her. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

Will glanced at the clock and frowned. "I would love to, Em, but I can't. I have to eat with Jewell tonight."

"Yeah, I figured," Emma started. "Maybe another time."

"Definitely," Will agreed. "Well, I better get going. It was really nice meeting you guys, thank you."

"It was nice meeting you too, honey," Rose waved.

"Play hard on Friday," Rusty chuckled.

"I will, sir," Will replied.

"I'll give you a ride home," Emma offered.

"You don't have to," Will protested.

"But I want to," Emma smiled. Emma turned back to her family. "See you guys in a little bit."

"I'm not saving any pizza for you," James mumbled, already grabbing two slices.

Will laughed. "Bye." The two of them made their way to the door and walked down the drive to Emma's Honda without a sound. Will hopped into the passenger seat and laughed as Emma started the car.

"What?" Emma asked.

"Nothing." Will glanced at her. "Your family seems pretty nice."

Emma nodded before realizing that it must be hurtful for Will to see happy families. Especially when his is millions of miles away in unknown places. Emma wanted to make Will feel like he belonged somewhere. An idea struck her and she smiled. "I want you to know that you can come over anytime for as long as you want."

Will smiled at her. "Okay, why?"

"Just because." Emma smiled as she saw Will grinning goofily out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, I think that we should do something special tomorrow."

"After tutoring?" Will asked, interested.

"Um, I was actually thinking that we could maybe skip tutoring tomorrow, if that's okay with you," Emma offered.

"Oh." Will's face fell and Emma wondered if she was really that important to him.

"I meant skip tutoring to do something more fun…a little break."

Will looked at her. "With you?"

"Yes, silly," Emma laughed.

Will let out a breath of relief. "Oh, okay, good. Why skip tutoring?"

"Just because," Emma grinned. "And we did a lot on Saturday…you are doing your homework on the days I'm not there, right?"

"Yeah," Will replied. And he actually was, since Emma started helping him. He really wanted to start doing better in school, if not for him then for Emma.

"Okay, good," Emma paused. "Can you come over tomorrow right after school?"

"Sure."

"We can meet up after final bell and I'll drive both of us," Emma suggested.

"Okay," Will agreed. "What are we going to be doing?"

"Something fun…just trust me," Emma informed him.

"I do." Will really did trust Emma…she was the first and only person he told about his past and home life.

Emma pulled into Will's driveway and stopped the car. "Well, here's your stop," she said.

"Yup," Will mumbled. "Can you come in for a little bit?"

"Sorry, I can't," Emma replied. "James might eat all my pizza…"

Will and Emma both laughed. "See you tomorrow, Em," Will smiled, opening the car door.

Emma nodded. "Goodbye."

Will waved and jumped out of the car, walking to the front door. Emma smiled to herself before remembering something. "Will, wait!" she called.

Will turned around, confused, but jogged back to her car anyways. "What's up?" he asked, leaning over the car's windowsill.

"I forgot to give you back the journal. I wrote some stuff yesterday," Emma explained, pulling it out of her purse

"You did? Awesome," Will replied, happily. He took the journal and nodded his thanks. "I'll give it back tomorrow after school."

"Sounds good," Emma agreed. "See you."

"See you," Will waved. He watched her drive away and then headed inside the house. Will greeted Jewell and the two of them had a quiet dinner of Will's grilled burgers and salad. After that, Jewell went to bed and Will did the dishes. Will had just washed the last plate and wiped his hands on the towel. He plopped down on the sofa and opened up the journal. Although he wanted to read it right away, he knew he should make dinner first for him and Jewell. Will smiled to himself as he saw that Emma left a bookmark on the page they were on. Emma had suggested that he start reading everything out loud. He really struggled at that, he was always stuttering and getting frustrated. She thought it would benefit him with sounding out words. Will began reading the entries out loud.

"_Hi Will. I left your house about two hours ago but I can't stop thinking about you. Your story…it keeps haunting me. It gave me a lot to think about. It made me appreciate more things in life. Like friendship. Sometimes, if you have a good friend, that's the only thing that matters. As long as you have one person making you smile and caring about you…you know that it's all going to be okay. I know that what you've been going through hasn't been easy. And I wish that I would've known sooner because I feel like whatever I do for you won't be enough. Think about it, Will. Holding all that stuff inside isn't good. I know you probably think it's not manly to be near tears while talking about your struggles but I think it is. The people who cry aren't weak, they're crying because they've been strong for too long. Like you. You're the strongest person I know, Will. I think the fact that you made it through all this almost alone is amazing. But I think that it's more amazing that you weren't afraid to show your feelings to me. To show that you've been hurt and left behind. To show that you're not just a smiling face…that there's a frown behind every smile. We're going to make it through this, Will. Both of us. Together. If you ever, ever, need someone to talk to, I'm here. I want to help you unload all of your emotional baggage and I need you to let me. You've done everything for everybody but you never ask for anything in return. Sometimes, the people who are constantly helping others…are the ones who are dying for a helping hand of their own. I'm here for you, Will. And I care. I know that you've probably felt like no one else cares for you; with everyone leaving and all. But I want you to know, that someone out there cares. And that someone is me and I hope that's enough for you. –Emma_," Will read. He smiled sadly at the paper and reread the message in his head. She cared. That was exactly what he needed. Emma was exactly what he needed and little did he know, he was exactly what she needed. Will looked down and noticed that she made another entry this morning. "_Hey. It's Sunday morning and disaster has already struck. I can't find my phone! I know it's in the house somewhere…I was using it last night. Ugh, I'll go on a search mission later, I'm too tired right now. So, if you've sent me any texts or anything lately, I probably haven't gotten them. I mean, my phone did, but I haven't read them. I kind of can't wait until Monday to see you. Yeah, that's probably weird but like…I don't know. It's just nice hanging out with you. You don't judge me like other people do. And I really like that. I think it's sweet. Okay. Well, I have to go. James says my mom is going to throw my bed on the roof if I don't come down for breakfast. Yeah…it's like one-thirty in the afternoon. I needed my sleep. See you soon. –Emma._"

Will smiled to himself, picturing Emma running around her room looking for a phone. He reread both passages a few more times before walking over to the kitchen with a dopey grin on his face.

* * *

The next morning, Emma was at her locker before homeroom, unloading her backpack. As she was absorbed in her own thoughts, she didn't notice Will come up behind her. He was wearing a navy blue American Eagle V-neck sweater with a white shirt poking out underneath and dark khaki cargo pants with his usual black Converse. Will tapped her shoulder and Emma nearly jumped. "Hey Em," Will greeted.

Emma spun around. "Oh, hi! I didn't see you there."

Will had one hand clutching a backpack strap and the other behind his back, while rocking back and forth on his heels. "Yeah, how was the rest of your night?" Will asked.

"It was good." Emma glanced at Will again and smiled. "You're a bit dressed up today," she laughed. "What's the special occasion?"

"Going over to the Pillsbury house, take two," Will joked. "This time, I thought I'd leave the cap at home."

Emma laughed. "Once again, you looked fine."

"You're just saying that," Will smiled.

"No, I mean it," Emma protested.

"It's in the Best Friend Handbook," Will smirked. "Rule number seven: always tell them they look fine, even if they look retarded."

"Wow, you're just making that up," Emma replied, laughing.

"Maybe." Will pulled out a nice-looking cupcake from behind his back. It was chocolate with yellow frosting and jelly beans forming a smiley face. Will handed it to her. "This is for you."

"Aw, thank you," Emma replied, admiring the cupcake. "Did you make this?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, was practicing my baking skills last night. I wanted to give one to you to just say thank you, really. For everything. Um, you know like Saturday and all," Will admitted.

"That was really sweet of you," Emma smiled, as Will blushed a bit. Before she could say anything else, Will closed the gap between them, and wrapped his strong arms around her in a loving hug. Emma could feel herself almost melting under his safe embrace.

"Thanks, Em," Will murmured into her hair before stepping away. Once he stepped away, he gave her a shy lopsided grin. "See you later," he waved.

Emma smiled to herself and for the first time, found herself wishing that someday she could have a boyfriend like Will. Terri must be so lucky with a boy like that. He was the perfect boyfriend and he might just be perfect for Emma.

As soon as the last bell of the day rang, Will rushed to his locker. He quickly stuffed all of his homework and books in his backpack and began making his way to Emma's locker. The hallway traffic was slow and stuffy and Will started running through the hall; dodging people and skipping steps. He saw a familiar redhead shutting her locker and Will jogged the last few steps to her. "Hey," he breathed.

Emma smiled and they started walking down the hall. "Hi, how was your day?"

"Good and yours?" Will replied, as he held open the door for her.

"Pretty good." The two stepped into the chilly daylight, it was early October, so the weather was perfect. "My car's over here," Emma commented and Will followed her to the Honda. Emma unlocked the car and the two of them got in.

As the drove out of the school's parking lot, Will hummed to the music. "I've been practicing, you know," Will admitted.

"For what?" Emma wondered.

"For you." Will looked out the window, drumming his fingers on the dashboard. "For the song I'm going to sing you."

"That's great," Emma beamed. "I can't wait to hear it."

"I know," Will mumbled, as they pulled into her driveway. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to sing it for you."

"Great, well, we're here," Emma announced, getting out of the car. Will followed her to the front door, which she unlocked with a key. "Come in," Emma said, motioning him in. Will nodded and stepped inside. The two of them pulled off their shoes and Emma glanced around. "Mom! Will and I are home!" Emma called.

Mrs. Pillsbury appeared in the hallway. "Hey kids, do you guys want something to eat?" she offered, smiling.

"Um, no, mom. We're good. Will and I are just going to go hang out downstairs…remember?" Emma replied.

Rose paused for a second before the light bulb went off in her head. "Oh right! Well, have fun," Rose exclaimed.

Emma nodded. "It's this way," she informed Will, leading him to the basement door. The two of them bounded down the steps to the laundry room. "Uh, next room over." Emma opened the door and smiled. "Sometimes, when I'm feeling down, I just do this. So, I thought that maybe you would like it…after everything you're going through. I think that after we both relax for a few hours, you'll feel better," Emma explained.

Will was in awe, surprised at what she had done for him. They had a sixty-inch flat screen TV in front of a large sofa with some bean bags scattered around. There was a coffee table in between the TV and the sofa. Emma had piled tons of DVDs and videogames on the coffee table along with plenty of junk food. There were bowls of chips, pretzels, Cheetos, Skittle, M&Ms, sour gummy worms, and tons of chocolate chip cookies. "Wow…" Will announced.

"Yup, put it together last night," Emma explained.

"This is…a lot. Thanks…really. Just wow," Will stuttered. "Where'd you get all this?"

"Well, I made a run to the grocery store last night. Then I got some of the movies and videogames from James and the others from Blockbuster and the library," Emma explained. "I hope you like them…I didn't really know what movies were your favorites so I kind of guessed."

Will scanned a few of the titles; _The Amazing Spiderman_, _Iron Man 1 _and _2_, _The Adjustment Bureau, Inception, _and _Grown-Ups_ were among them. "These are all awesome," Will exclaimed. "You didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to," Emma said, softly. "Just because."

Will offered his signature lopsided smile and sat down beside Emma. "You're amazing, Em."

Emma blushed. "Thanks. So, what do you want to watch first?"

"Whatever you want."

"Just pick something, Will," Emma laughed.

"Okay…um, how does _Iron Man_ sound to you?" Will suggested.

"Perfect." Emma got up and slipped the DVD into the DVD player and pressed play. The two of them began watching the movie and munching on snacks.

Thirty minutes into the movie, Will spoke up. "Can I show you something?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Sure," Emma replied, sitting up. She scooted a bit closet to Will, close enough that their legs were touching.

Will reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. Emma immediately recognized it as the necklace that he was always wearing, the one that had accidently clunked her in the back of the head. Will pulled it off of his neck. Now, Emma noticed that it was a dog tag necklace for the army. There were two tags strung on the silver chain. Will held the first tag in between his thumb and index finger. "This was from my dad's first tour in the army," Will explained. He held up the other one. "Third tour."

Emma peered over Will's shoulder, to glance at the tiny punched-in letters. Will handed her the necklace to look at. The first tag read; **Sgt. Noah Schuester Squad 223 ID:150002262 **The second tag read something similar; **Sgt. Noah Schuester Squad 756 ID:150002262** Emma smiled. "He gave you these?"

"Yeah. That's why I wear them every day, to sort of honor him without him even knowing," Will admitted.

"You must be so proud," Emma replied, slipping the necklace back around Will's neck.

"I am." Will looked at her and smiled.

"I was wondering…not to like be mean or anything but…why can't you drive?" Emma asked, cautiously.

Will laughed. "It's no big deal. Well, I was old enough to get my license last year but obviously no one was here to help me or train me. My dad's leaves are only two weeks long so that's not long enough and Jewell can barely drive herself."

"Oh." Emma thought it must be really hard for Will and Jewell with not being able to drive. "Jewell has a license, right?"

"Yeah, she does. But my dad stopped letting her drive when I was in ninth grade because of her health and all. We have an old beat-up car in the garage that I work on every month to make sure it still runs but no one really uses it."

"How do you like…go places?" Emma asked, curiously.

"Well, in Lima everything's pretty much in walking distance and when we need like big groceries from Wal-Mart or Target, I give money to our neighbor, Mrs. Anderson, and she gets them for us. It's a little bit more complicated than other people but we manage," Will explained. Emma had a flashback to their first tutoring session, when Will wrote _Mrs. Anderson –grosheries _on the board.

"Does she know about…everything?" Emma asked.

Will shook his head. "I don't know how much she knows exactly. My dad was friends with her before I was born; they went to college together with him and my mom. She's married to a guy and they have a little boy that I babysit sometimes."

Emma grinned; Will was probably great with little kids. "Oh, I see. And you're a pizza delivery boy who can't drive?"

"That's why I ride with Cole. He drives and I get out and deliver to the people. According to Tony, I have better people skills than his son," Will laughed.

"Do you work a lot?" Emma wondered, popping some Skittles into her mouth.

"I work the same hours as Cole. Saturdays and Sundays from starting at five and going until whenever everything's delivered. Sometimes until ten, sometimes until seven, it all depends. And then, Tuesdays and Thursdays from six-thirty until eleven, usually," Will explained.

"That late?" Emma exclaimed.

Will nodded. "Yup. We deliver usually until nine-thirty but then I help out inside the restaurant…bussing tables, doing dishes, whatever they need. It helps out a bit with the bills. My dad was good friends with Tony too but I don't think he knows much besides the fact that my dad's in the army. He pays me really well though."

"That's good," Emma agreed. "If you ever need any help with anything…groceries, financially, anything, my family would be happy to help."

"I'm fine," Will protested. "My aunt helps pay the bills and my dad gets money from the army and stuff," he added.

"Okay but still." Emma gazed at Will and smiled. She looked at the screen and noticed that the credits were rolling. "I think the movie's over. What do you want next?"

"You pick," Will suggested.

Emma nodded. "You like _Spiderman_?"

"My favorite," Will laughed.

"Mine too," Emma agreed, slipping the movie in.

"You know who you remind me of?" Will commented.

"Who?" Emma wondered.

"MJ. You know, Mary-Jane? Spidey's girlfriend," Will explained.

Emma burst out laughing. "Okay…I'm 99.9% sure that you said that just because we both have red hair."

"And you're both smart and pretty," Will admitted.

Emma blushed. "You would make a pretty good Spiderman."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Emma grinned. Will smiled at her, if he was Spiderman and she was MJ…well, then they would be dating. And right now, that didn't look too bad.

"Thanks, MJ," Will smirked.

Emma rolled her eyes but smiled anyways. "Very funny."

A few hours later, it was eight o' clock and they had got to see the movie. Emma had asked if he could stay for dinner but he declined, saying he had to cook for Jewell. The two had been laughing non-stop and honestly, spent more time looking at each other instead of the movie. Emma was now dropping Will off at home in her car. She pulled into his driveway. "See you on Wednesday," she waved, as he opened the door.

"What about tomorrow?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, at school, but you'll probably be busy or something," Emma admitted.

"Hold up, Spiderman can always make time for Mary Jane," Will smiled.

Emma blushed. "Okay."

"Did you find your cell yet?" Will wondered.

"Oh yeah…it was in one of my jeans pockets," Emma explained.

"I'll text you later," Will said.

"Great. I have the journal too, I'll read your stuff tonight," Emma commented.

"Okay, thanks again."

"It was no problem," Emma smiled.

"Well, thank you for helping me out with my problems," Will replied. "See you later," he waved, walking towards the door. Emma smiled to herself. It seemed that Will Schuester had already opened a lot of doors in her life.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? Please leave a review letting me know what you thought. I love hearing from all of you. Sorry that it took a week to update. :P I'll try to update before the week mark, I really will. The more reviews, the easier it is. R&R! ;) **


	6. Chapter 6- Looking Forward

Chapter 6- Looking Forward

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the awesome reviews last chapter; you guys are the reason why I keep writing. Last chapter took place on Monday, so now it's Tuesday. Also, what do you guys think of the length of the chapters? Is it too long? Because I feel like I might be making them too long and I don't know what you guys like. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

Will walked to his seat in homeroom on Tuesday morning and smiled when he saw the familiar leather spine of their notebook sitting on his desk. He ran over and scooped it up before glancing around for Emma. He spotted her sitting in her usual back row seat and caught her eye. Will waved and Emma blushed, she still wasn't used to Will noticing her in school. Will was about to walk over when Terri placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing?" Terri demanded. Will turned around and Emma pretended to look away while trying to hear their conversation.

"What do you mean?" Will asked, kindly.

"Why were you waving at her?" Terri caught Emma's eye behind Will's shoulder and scowled at her. Emma's cheeks flamed and she looked down at her notebook.

"Um, because she's my friend, Terri," Will explained. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"Will!" Terri yelled, raising a few eyebrows. Terri shot a few classmates glares before continuing in a hushed tone. "She's a freak; you can't possibly be friends with her. Do you know what that will do to you? People will think you're a freak too."

Will rolled his eyes. "No, they won't. And why are you so concerned about what others think of us? We've always had lots of friends."

Terri sighed. Will would never admit to being popular, instead he always said that he had tons of friends. "Because we have to stay on top, Will, being popular matters. Without popularity, we have nothing."

"We have each other," Will mumbled.

Terri rolled her eyes and glared at Emma, who was trying not to watch them. "Bottom line, Will. Don't be friends with her, don't talk to her at school, and you certainly can't hang out with her after tutoring. She's your tutor, not your friend," Terri muttered.

"Whatever," Will grumbled but Terri didn't hear him. She had already walked over to her friends; Megan and Aubrey, who worshipped her every move. Will looked over his shoulder at Emma and shot her a hopeful smile. Emma gave him a small smile before returning to her book.

* * *

That night, after Will cooked dinner, he pulled out his phone. He had only talked to Emma one other time today, after the last period. Will ran up to her in the hall and gave her the notebook but before he could say anything, his friends; Ryan and Cody, started calling after him for football practice. He just had time to utter a quick 'bye' before bolting in the other direction. Will leaned back on the sofa and scrolled through his cell's contacts. He smiled and Emma's name and selected it. _Hi Em. How was your day? _Will typed.

He got a reply almost instantly. _Pretty good and yours? Not to be intruding…but was Terri giving you a hard time this morning? _Emma replied.

_Yeah, a bit. She didn't want me to wave at you. :P_

_ Why not? _Emma asked.

_It doesn't matter b/c I'm gonna wave at you, anyways. You're my friend and Terri's not going to change that. _Will said.

_Aw, thank you. _

_ Anytime. Are you ready for tutoring tomorrow? I am. ;)_

_ Of course. Whose house? _Emma replied.

_Mine like usual. Am I spelling stuff wrong? _Will asked. Emma hesitated, over her phone. Will was spelling stuff wrong but she could still read and translate what he was saying. Emma just didn't know what to tell him.

_Um, some stuff. _

_ How much stuff? _Will's message read. Well, that's what Emma translated it to be. It actually read; _How mustch stuff? _Emma could tell that words with a –sh, -tch, or anything like that, troubled him. Emma sighed; she had to tell him the truth.

_Just a few things. _

_ Don't lie, Emma. _

_ Ok. Fine. You've been spelling about half the words wrong…but you're doing better. In your last text, you spelled all the words correctly, _Emma replied.

_I'm never going to get any better, am I? _

_ Yes! You will! You're already getting better, I've noticed. _

_ Sure…now I can spell my own name. I'm a regular Einstein. _Will sent. He hated this, not texting with Emma, but trying and failing over and over again to spell words correctly. It felt like he was playing one-on-one against Tom Brady; impossible to win.

_Will, I'm going to help you get better with schoolwork. It's going to take a little time but we'll get there. I promise, _Emma replied.

_Ok. I hope so. _

_ I know so. Ugh, my mom's calling me for dinner…I have to go now. I'll write in the journal tonight but see you tomorrow, _Emma said.

_Bye, _Will replied. He shoved his phone in his pocket and stared at the ceiling. Jewell was in her bedroom, reading a book. Will never really read for fun, unless magazines and comic books counted. With books, the words were smaller and seemed to blend together; swimming on the page. Will knew he had to get better sometime; next year would be his senior year…and then college. College was a big what if for Will. He really wanted to go but wasn't sure if his grades were good enough and who would take care of Jewell when he was gone? His dad certainly wasn't going to quit the army for anything, it seemed. And as for his mom…she was out there, somewhere. Will hated that. He wished he could at least know where she was, know that she was safe. That's all he wanted. Will pulled out the dog tags from inside his shirt and played with them, reading the inscription over and over until his head hurt.

"William!" Jewell called, entering the room. She noticed him reading the dog tags and grimaced. Will looked up, shoving the necklace back into his shirt. "He's coming back soon, you know, real soon. For Christmas, honey, we're all going to be together…like a family."

Will sighed, suddenly realizing how far away from family they were. "I-I…well, what if he doesn't make it to Christmas? Then what? He could die any second now and we probably wouldn't even know for a week. And mom…she's not here. We don't even know where she is! Or Miles. This is just so…" Will drifted off. He bent over and pulled his shirt up, to cover his face.

Jewell walked over and sat beside him on the sofa. She placed a gentle hand on her grandson's back and rubbed it. "It's all going to be okay."

Will looked up at her, sadly. "You don't know that."

"You're right, I don't," Jewell agreed. "But you know what I do know?"

Will grabbed at the necklace again and mumbled something incoherently.

"I know that you're the glue of this family, Will," Jewell admitted. "You're the one who holds everything together when everything's falling apart. You keep everything up and running. You took care of Miles and your mother for years before she decided to leave. You take care of me every day. You take care of everything for your father…everything. But, I think that it's time for you to let someone take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me," Will lied.

"Yes, you do." Jewell paused. "You're such a good boy, Will…such a good boy. Always have been. I remember when you were five…you'd sing your mom to sleep…was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Then, when Miles was born and you were barely a teenager…you'd do the same thing. Someday, everything's going to go back to normal for us."

Will nodded. "Someday," he mumbled.

* * *

After Emma ate dinner, she sat at her desk and opened the journal. She smiled when she saw Will's familiar scrawl. Emma looked down at the page and began reading. "_Hey Em. I'm here, sitting in social studies, and all of a sudden…I made an amazing discovery. Well, actually two. I realized that if you rub your arm on the back of your chair (you know, those blue ones that most classes have), all of your arm hair stands straight up! It's so weird. I was doing that for like five minutes before Terri told me to stop. She keeps doing that a lot, lately. Telling me to stop doing whatever. It's getting a bit annoying. Anyways, that was amazing discovery number one. Number two was a bit more deep. We were going over all the stuff in the world like…countries, islands, all that stuff in the back of the book. So. There's 1 universe, 9 planets, 204 countries, 809 islands, 7 seas, and I had the privilege to meet you. If you think about it long enough…it's amazing. It's like it happened for a reason…me meeting you. I think it was meant to be. I think we're meant to take care of each other…to be there for each other when no one else is. I think so. So, yeah…just sitting here in social studies, thinking of you. –Will._"

Emma smiled down at the book. Will just kept on surprising her. Emma could feel her cheeks turning red as she thought of Will. She had never felt this way before, ever. Surely, it was just a small crush on a close friend, nothing more. The more Emma tried to convince herself that, the more she could feel herself falling deeper and deeper under Will's spell. Not that it really was a spell. He wasn't a womanizer, yet, he had a certain charm. One that could only be described as Will. There was a knock at the door, snapping Emma out of her thoughts. Emma cleared her throat. "Come in."

"Hey, it's me." Katie entered the room, smiling. She sat down on Emma's bed, bouncing up and down.

Emma set the journal down and spun around in her chair. "What's up, Katie?"

"You really love him, don't you?" Katie asked.

Emma's face flushed. "I-I don't love Will!" she exclaimed.

Katie smirked. "A simple psychological question, not a single name was mentioned, but Will somehow popped into your head."

"Because he's the only guy that I'm friends with," Emma protested, though she knew the argument was a lost cause.

"Really? Because whatever you were just reading, didn't sound too much like friendship…it sounded like love," Katie replied.

Emma blushed. "How did you know what I was reading?"

"Um, you were reading out loud, duh." Emma sighed; she hadn't realized she was doing that. That was certainly one of the last things she wanted to be reading out loud.

"He's just going through a rough time, that's all," Emma explained, rolling her eyes.

"He's really romantic for a jock," Katie laughed. "I'm just kidding; he seems to be a lot different from the other Neanderthals in your grade."

"That's because Will is," Emma replied.

"Okay…I'm just saying, don't think too much of your friendship with him. He has a girlfriend, so don't overthink everything or you're going to end up heartbroken," Katie warned.

Emma rolled her eyes. "The only feelings I have for Will are feelings of friendship."

"Sure…" Katie mocked, before leaving the room. Once she was sure that Katie was gone, Emma pulled out the journal and started rereading the passage again…this time, in her head.

* * *

It was now Wednesday and it was lunch time. Will and Emma had got to talk to each other a bit at the beginning of homeroom when they exchanged the journal. Once again, Terri had pulled Will away from Emma, but this time, she didn't scold Will. Instead, she wordlessly dragged him back to their friends. Now, Will was sitting at a table with Terri and their group. Will kept glancing over at the cafeteria door, hoping that Emma would somehow burst in. He assumed that she ate lunch in the library or in a classroom because he never saw her during lunch hour. "Will," Terri snapped.

Will looked at her and set his sandwich down. "What?" he asked.

"What color dress do you think that I should wear to the prom?" Terri asked, forcing a smile.

"Isn't that in like…November or something?" Will wondered.

Cody nodded. "Think so."

"Well…I'm waiting," Terri wailed.

"Oh, um, blue?" Will suggested.

Terri turned to face Megan and Aubrey and laughed. "Isn't it adorable how he knows nothing about fashion?" All the girls laughed and Terri held onto Will's arm, protectively. Will smiled and nodded along with the rest of them. Will took a bite of his sandwich and glanced up, nearly choking. Emma was walking by their table; clutching a paper lunch bag and some books. He didn't know if she noticed him or not but suddenly that wasn't important. "Hey Emma!" Will called. Emma turned to face him, along with everyone at his table.

"What are you doing?" Terri muttered, squeezing his arm.

Will ignored her comment and all his friends' stares. "Want to sit with us?" Will offered.

Emma's Bambi eyes darted from Terri's glares and his friends' stares back to Will's kind eyes. "I…um…should be going back to the library," Emma stammered. Before Will could protest, Emma spun on her heels and darted out of the lunchroom.

"Freak," Megan laughed.

"Is she like afraid of people?" Terri cackled.

"Hey!" Will interrupted. "Cut it out, she has OCD, okay?"

"What's that?" Jensen asked.

"A scientific diagnosis of her weirdness," Terri replied.

"Stop it!" Will exclaimed, raising his voice. Everyone at the table gaped at him; they'd never seen him raise his voice. "Okay?" he continued, lowering his voice. "Emma's really nice and I'm tired of you guys treating her like a science experiment."

"But she is one," Ryan smirked. Now, Terri even shot him a look.

Will had had enough. He balled up his trash and chucked it in the trash can, not even bothering to watch it sail in. He stood up and Terri tugged on his sleeve. "Honey, where are you going?" she asked, sweetly.

"Bathroom," Will mumbled, jogging out the double doors. Will stood in the hallway for a moment, glancing both ways. Honestly, he couldn't remember where the library was. He never went there on his own time and AP English was the only class that really used the room. Will started wandering down a hall that he thought led to the library. Sure enough, at the end of it, was the library. Will quietly opened the door to find numerous students scoping out books, studying in groups, or just quietly eating their lunch. He spotted Emma in the back of the room; her head buried in a book. Will walked up to Emma and sat down beside her, wordlessly. Emma looked up from her novel when she heard a loud shift; Will was rocking back and forth in his chair.

"Hi," Will greeted.

"Hey…" Emma started. "What are you doing here? I mean…not that I don't want you here or anything but…"

"Oh, um, just wanted to check on you," Will replied. "You could've sat with us, you know."

"No, no I couldn't have…you know that," Emma said, truthfully. She set down her book.

Will looked hurt. "Did I do something?" he wondered.

"No!" Emma cried, earning a look from the librarian. "I mean, no, no, it's not you at all."

"Then what is it?" Will mumbled. Emma couldn't believe that he could possibly think this was his fault.

"Terri doesn't really like me…neither do the rest of your friends," Emma admitted.

"Sure they do," Will lied.

Emma raised an eyebrow. "It's okay, I get why they don't…and it doesn't really bother me that much."

"It bothers me though," Will interjected. "You're my best friend, Em, I don't want anyone to hurt you."

"And they aren't," Emma quipped. "Don't worry about me, Will, I'm perfectly fine."

"Okay…" Will agreed uneasily. "Why do you eat down here?"

"Um, well, you know," Emma started. "It's nice and quiet…um, less germs."

"Right." Will glanced at her packet of Wet Ones sitting next to her book. "If you want, I could eat lunch with you from now on…make it less lonely," Will offered. He knew it probably wasn't lonely for her standards but he just wanted to spend as much time with her as he could.

"Um, you don't have to…I know your friends would probably miss you," Emma said, although she really would love Will's company.

"How about I eat here on non-tutoring days? Then I can still see you every day," Will suggested.

Emma nodded, beaming. "Sounds good." The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period. "Well, four-thirty today at your house?"

"Yeah, see you there," Will smiled.

* * *

It was four-thirty and Will was watching the cars drive by his window, eagerly awaiting the silver Honda. When Emma's car pulled into his driveway, he grinned and ran out to greet her. "Hey," he breathed, jogging up to her.

"Hi Will," Emma replied, as the two entered the house. She slipped off her shoes and followed him to his bedroom. "Do you have a lot of homework today?"

Will smiled, digging through his backpack. "Just English and math."

"Great." Emma smiled at him and sat beside him on his bed. Will was wearing a blue t-shirt with the Superman symbol across the chest and jeans. "Did you have any trouble in school today?" Emma asked.

"Um, not really any more than usual," Will replied, honestly. He pulled out his English homework; it was the Article of the Week. Each week, they were given an article to read and had to write a one-page reflection on it.

"What's the homework for English?" Emma asked.

Will handed her the sheet. "Article of the Week."

"Okay, you want to read it out loud?" Emma suggested. She smiled kindly at him, passing the paper back to him.

Will hesitated, glancing down at the paper. Big words stuck out like needles to Will and they seemed to swim on the page. "Um, I-I think that I'll read in my head."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "I think you should read out loud."

"I would rather not." Will bit his lip, shyly.

"You know I'm not going to make fun of you if you mess up, Will. I'm here to help," Emma assured him.

Will cleared his throat. "Um, okay." He glanced back down at the paper and squinted. "The car-card-card…" Will stuttered. He slid closer to Emma and put his finger on the word. "What does this say?" Will asked, quietly.

"Cardiovascular," Emma said, slowly. She looked up at him and gave him a hopeful smile, urging him to continue.

Will nodded and looked back at the paper. He kept staring at the paper, as if it would read itself. "Will?" Emma whispered. Will glanced up at her. "You've been staring at the page for almost three minutes…are you okay?"

Will dropped the paper and rubbed his eyes. "I-I…just…what's wrong with me, Em? Why am I so messed up?"

"Oh Will," Emma murmured, placing a hand on his back. "There's nothing wrong with you…at all. Your brain just might work a little…differently than others. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you, it just means that you might have to work a little harder than others." Emma paused and looked at Will, who was frustrated yet listening to her every word. "Will…I know I asked this before but…do you think you might be…" Emma drifted off.

"Dyslexic?" Will whispered.

Emma nodded. "I'm just noticing that you seem to be experiencing a lot of the symptoms and well, you know. The person that I tutored before you was dyslexic and a hockey player…he only lasted two sessions before he quit…thought I might infect him or something." Emma cracked a small smile and Will followed.

"I don't know…maybe. It's just…I don't want to be. It's like somebody officially saying I'm a retard. You know? But everything at school is just so hard for me, I might as well be," Will admitted.

Emma cleared her throat. "Um, there are tests for dyslexia. I think you can even take them at school with the special education teacher."

"I don't want to be special ed!" Will cried. Emma's eyes widened. "Sorry," Will mumbled. "I just lost it there for a second."

"It's okay, I understand. When I was eight, I didn't want to go to the doctor to get tested for OCD. But…I had to. And I'm glad I did because now, I'm getting better, Will," Emma explained.

"You…want me to get tested?" Will whispered.

"I think you should," Emma said, softly. "Because it'll really help, they'll tell you what to do to get better in school. And they can tell me what I can do as a tutor to help you out. I'm not trying to insult you by saying you should get tested, I'm just saying that I think it's for the best."

Will ran a hand through his unruly curls. "If…if I turn out positive, will teachers treat me differently at school?"

"Well, sort of." Emma rubbed Will's back, comforting him. "They'll give you extra time on tests and probably be more lenient with your grades. Like letting you retake tests and stuff. They won't tell anyone you're dyslexic, just your teachers. No one will know."

"You will," Will mumbled.

"I'm not going to tell anyone, trust me. So…what do you think?" Emma replied.

"Do I go to the test alone?" Will wondered.

Emma smiled. "I'll come with you, if you want."

"Yeah, please come," Will pleaded.

"Of course," Emma assured him. "When do you want to do this?"

Will wished he could say _never_, but that obviously wasn't going to work. "How about if I don't pass next week's spelling test? Then I have to go."

"Okay," Emma agreed, although she wanted him to go regardless. "The test is next Wednesday, right?"

Will nodded. "Yup."

"Okay, well, study hard," Emma smiled. Will smiled, nervously convincing himself that he wasn't…couldn't be dyslexic. "Will?" Emma continued. "Even if you are dyslexic…I won't see you any differently. It just means…you're smart in ways that a pencil and paper can't show."

"Thank you," Will said, looking deep into Emma's honey brown eyes.

"For what?" Emma laughed. "I didn't do anything."

"No," Will admitted. "You did more than you'll ever know."

Two hours later, Will and Emma had finished off Will's workload. There had been a few more frustrations along the way but Emma had helped him out. "So," Emma announced, putting the last of her books in her backpack.

"So," Will teased.

Emma laughed. "Actually, my mom was wondering if you would want to come over for dinner on Monday. What do you say?"

"Really?" Will grinned.

"Yes, really," Emma smirked.

"I'd love to," Will replied. Emma beamed, she was worried that he would say no. "Do you want to tutor over here first and then we can go over to your house?"

"Sounds like a plan," Emma agreed. "You did great today, Will."

"Pfft, barely," Will argued.

"You're improving a little more every time we work together," Emma admitted.

"Then I guess we should work together a lot," Will laughed.

There was a knock at the door and Will and Emma both looked up. "Come in," Will said.

Jewell walked in, smiling like usual. "Hello Emma," she greeted. "How are you guys doing?"

"Great," Emma smiled.

"I didn't mean to interrupt but I just needed to let William know something," Jewell informed them.

"What's up?" Will asked, smiling boyishly.

"Well, we need to get more sweatshirts and long sleeves for you and me. It's getting colder outside, you know. Are you going to the mall with your friends this weekend?" Jewell asked. "Or do you want to ask Mrs. Anderson?"

Will turned to face Emma. "Want to go to the mall on Saturday after tutoring?"

Emma beamed, surprised he'd asked. "Sure, I'll drive."

"Thank you, honey," Jewell smiled. She glanced at her grandson. "She's really something, isn't she, Will?"

"She is," Will laughed.

"Emma, do you want to stay for dinner?" Jewell offered.

"Sorry, I can't. I've got to cook tonight at my house," Emma replied. "I should probably get going."

Jewell nodded. "Well, you're always welcome over here." Jewell walked out of Will's room to give the two of them some privacy.

Will glanced at the clock and groaned. "You have to go already?"

"Yes, already," Emma laughed. "But, hey, we have our journal entries, texting, lunch, and the mall to look forward to…you're not getting rid of me."

Will smiled. "I would never want to, Em."

Emma blushed and the two of them walked out of the room, to the front door. "Thanks for having me over," Emma said, as she put her shoes back on.

"You're the one who was tutoring me," Will laughed.

"Oh. Yeah," Emma smiled.

Will opened the door and motioned to her car. "Your carriage awaits, Cinderella."

Emma was sure her cheeks turned blood red in the darkness. She immediately thought back to that day in second grade and smiled. "Good bye, Prince Charming," Emma waved, walking to her car.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? This was kind of a filler chapter; the next one's going to be long…just a warning. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Also, do you guys think Will's gonna turn out dyslexic? Just wondering. Well, I updated in six days so I beat the week mark this time. My life's a lot busier since basketball started up again, but I want to thank everyone who's reviewing this. R&R! ;) **


	7. Chapter 7- Not at All

Chapter 7- Not at All

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the amazing reviews last chapter, I'm really happy that people are reading and enjoying this story. Sorry that it took over a week to update, basketball is taking up a lot more time than I thought it would. :P Oh, I just got a Tumblr, my names is iluvwillschuester, so if you guys could please follow me, I'll follow anyone back too. So, here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

Thursday had passed by quickly for both Will and Emma. They had ate lunch together because there was no tutoring that day and written to each other but somehow, it still felt like it wasn't enough. They had found themselves feeling the need to talk to each other all the time. In fact, after Thursday's football practice, Will meant to call Emma but accidently called Terri. When he called Terri 'Emma', she flipped. Will had to apologize numerous times before she calmed down. They made their daily journal entries to each other and patiently awaited Saturday, the next day they could hang out. It was now Friday morning and Will was at his locker before homeroom. As he pulled his U.S. History textbook out of his backpack, Terri and their friends approached him. "Hey babe," Terri grinned, kissing him.

"Hi Terri," Will greeted, pulling away. He glanced at their group of friends; Ryan, Cody, Jensen, Aubrey, and Megan. "Hey guys."

"What's up?" Cody greeted, playing with the straw in his dark blue slushie.

Will noticed this and was worried immediately. "You're not going to throw that at anyone, are you?"

"Of course not," Cody scoffed. Naturally, all of the jocks loved throwing slushies at the school losers. All of the jocks that is, except for Will.

"The last time we really nailed someone was when we got that dweeb from the AV club," Jensen explained.

Megan laughed. "That was funny."

Will resisted the urge to but in with his opinion. Terri took a step closer to Cody and Aubrey and began discussing something –most likely the upcoming dance –even though it was over a month away. Ryan and Jensen started talking about tonight's football game but Will was only half listening; his mind preoccupied with thoughts of Emma. He glanced behind Jensen's shoulder and saw Emma walking quickly and clutching a textbook to her chest. Will smiled and waved at her. Terri as well as their friends all looked and saw this. Terri discretely leaned in closer to Cody and whispered something in his ear as Cody nodded. Emma raised her hand to wave back and Cody raised his slushie. In one quick motion, he tossed the sticky liquid all over Emma. In that split second, everything seemed to freeze. Emma dropped her book and stopped in her steps, mouth wide open. Everyone in the hall stopped and stared after a few seconds, it settled in and everyone burst out laughing. Will slammed his locker and broke through the crowd, running to Emma immediately. He could hear people already whispering about his actions but he ignored them. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and Emma was brought back down to earth.

"Will…the…spreading…I," Emma stammered, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"Hey," Will whispered, as the laughter grew. "Ignore them, you're coming with me."

"The…slushie…germs," Emma stuttered, still not moving.

"It's going to be okay," Will assured her. "Come on." He took her hand in his and tugged on her hand. Emma took a step and Will began weaving her through the crowd that had gathered, ignoring the laughs from jocks. Once they turned around the corner, Emma stopped.

"Where are we going?" Emma asked, breathing heavily.

"Um, we need to get you cleaned up," Will replied. "How do you want to do this? I'll help you."

"Will…" Emma started, her voice breaking. Her brown eyes welled up with tears and she sniffed.

"Oh no," Will mumbled, taking a step closer to her. He gently put a hand on her face and wiped away the falling tears with his thumb. "No, Em, please don't cry. You're going to make me cry." He stroked her cheek again; blue slush falling to the ground.

"It's…all over me, Will," Emma sobbed. Will couldn't take it anymore; he wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her into a loving hug.

"I don't really know much about…the germ stuff," Will said into her hair. "But I really want to help you. I'll do whatever it takes."

Emma looked up at him and Will wiped away more tears with his thumb. "Will…I'm going to get slushie on your shirt." She took a step back from him, to avoid this.

Will glanced down at his Ohio State t-shirt and laughed. "I honestly don't care; I just care about you being okay."

"Um, Will, I really need to clean up," Emma murmured, glancing back down at her blue stained t-shirt. "Like now."

"Oh right! Sorry." Will glanced around the hallway; homeroom was just starting so there was virtually no one in the halls. "Um, how do you want to do this?"

"I-I can go by myself to the bathroom, I'm fine. You should probably go to class now," Emma replied.

"No, I'm not leaving you. We have the same homeroom, it's no big deal," Will assured her.

"I'm pretty sure you're not allowed in the girls' bathroom," Emma said, smiling for the first time all morning.

Will glanced around again. "That's why we're not going there." Emma raised an eyebrow. "The locker room is empty right now and it's pretty clean."

"I'll get in trouble, Will, that's for the football team," Emma protested.

"I'm the quarterback; they won't get you in trouble. Come on," Will replied. Emma hesitated until Will took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Let's go," he said, pulling her along.

"Okay," Emma laughed. She imagined they probably looked silly, running down the hall and holding hands. But then again, everything was so innocent and fun with Will around. Once they were ten feet from the locker room, Will let go of her hand. "What?" Emma asked.

"Shh!" Will whispered, holding a finger to his lips. He whipped his head around dramatically and nodded to himself.

"Will?" Emma repeated. Will rolled headfirst like a ninja to the locker room door and Emma burst out laughing. He jumped back up in a crouching position and waddled to the door, looking around again. Emma was laughing even harder.

Will glanced back at her and winked. "Coast is clear."

Emma shook her head, laughing, and walked up to him. He jumped to his feet and opened the door for her. "After you," he smirked.

Emma stepped inside and Will followed her. "It actually doesn't smell too bad in here," Emma commented, looking around.

"Because no one's in here," Will quipped. "Come in here after a game and…" Will made a gagging motion.

Emma smiled. "Where are we going?"

"There's some sinks in the back," Will explained, leading the way. Emma followed him to the back of the locker room where two white sinks stood. "No one really uses these."

"Okay," Emma replied. "Um…"

"Here," Will said, pulling a chair out. He placed it's back to the sink and motioned for her to sit. Emma sat down, cautiously. "Tip your head back," Will instructed. Emma looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm just going to wash your hair, don't worry."

Emma nodded and slowly put her head back. Will got on his knees and rummaged through a bag on the ground. He pulled out a bottle of shampoo and smiled at Emma. He turned on the faucet and placed a hand under Emma's head, supporting her. "Tell me if it's too hot or cold," he said, kindly.

"It's fine," Emma assured him. Will nodded and began running his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. Blue chunks of the drink began falling down the drain. Will stopped the water after a minute and squirted a dot of shampoo into his hand. He rubbed his hands together before placing them on Emma's head.

"Um, you might want to close your eyes…I don't want to accidently get soap in your eyes," Will said, shyly.

"Oh right," Emma smiled, shutting her eyes. Will began softly humming and running his soaped-up hands through her hair. He noticed how soft her hair was and continued, smiling. After a few minutes, he pulled his hands away and wiped them on his jeans.

"I'm going to rinse your hair now," Will explained, turning the faucet back on. He ran his hands through her hair a few more times, making sure there were no traces of the slushie left behind. After Will was sure that it was all gone, he shut off the water. "All done," he smiled.

Emma smiled at him and sat up. Will picked up a towel and tossed it to her. "It's clean, don't worry," he commented. Emma nodded and started squeezing the water out of her hair.

"Thank you, Will," Emma replied, softly.

"It's no problem, Em," Will smiled. He paused for a moment, as he thought about what he was going to do to Cody and the rest of them.

Emma must've sensed the change in his demeanor because she spoke up immediately. "Please don't get in a fight with Cody. I mean, with your fists, I don't want you to get hurt."

Will's hazel eyes widened. "You think I couldn't take him?"

"I know you could beat him up easily, Will, but I don't want you to. And I know that you don't want to either. You're not a fighting type of guy," Emma explained.

"I am if my friends are involved," Will grumbled.

Emma placed her hand on top of his. "Please don't…for me."

Will's smile returned. "Okay, I won't but only because of you."

Emma grinned and was sure that she was blushing. She glanced down at her soaked and stained long sleeve shirt and sighed. "This isn't going to be a fun day," she mumbled.

Will gave her that cute lopsided smile again and held up one finger. "Give me one second," Will announced before dashing into the rows of lockers. Emma could hear him scrambling around back there and wondered what he was doing. After about a minute, Will emerged from behind the lockers, carrying some clothes.

"W-what are those for?" Emma wondered.

"You." Will handed Emma a black Nike McKinley High varsity soccer t-shirt first. "Last year's soccer t-shirt for practices only…it's clean." He then pulled out a gray Nike McKinley High varsity football sweatshirt and handed it to Emma.

Emma held up the sweatshirt and smiled. It was from this year and had Will's number seven and 'Schuester' printed across the back . The soccer t-shirt didn't have his name but had the number three on the back. "These are yours," Emma stated.

"Well, yeah, they have my name on them," Will replied. "They're for you to wear."

"But…they're really nice looking," Emma protested. "And the football one is the one that the whole team wears around."

"I know, it's okay, I have another one of those hoodies in red," Will replied, innocently. "You can keep these."

Emma smiled, incredulously. "No, they're yours, Will. And it has your name on it so people will know."

"What's wrong with people knowing that you're wearing my hoodie?" Will wondered, scratching his head.

"Terri will get mad," Emma protested.

"No, she won't," Will said. "I offered her my hoodie a week ago and she said no, she thought it was disgusting and manly."

Emma laughed at this. "Sorry, I just…"

"I know," Will smiled. "So," he continued, pushing the clothes into her arms. "For you. To keep and wear whenever you want, only if you want to."

Emma blushed. "I'd love to and thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," Will replied. "Um, I'll wait outside the locker room…so you can get dressed."

"Oh yeah," Emma smiled. Will nodded and headed out the side door. After a few minutes, Emma came out of the locker room door and smiled at Will. The sweatshirt went down to her thighs and somehow, looked perfect on her. Emma noticed him staring and blushed. "It's a little big."

"You look beautiful," Will admitted. Emma couldn't have turned any redder, it was the third time that he'd ever called her that, and, yet, it stunned her every time.

"Thank you," Emma replied. "We should probably get back to class before Ms. Kennedy sends out a search party."

"Yeah," Will mumbled, following Emma down the hallway.

"So," Emma started. "Big game tonight?"

"A minor one," Will laughed. "North High…easy team."

"Ah, well, I'm sure you'll do great," Emma smiled.

"Thanks," Will blushed. They approached the door and Will swung it open for the two of them as twenty heads snapped their way. Will and Emma walked up to their teacher and Will shot Cody a hard glare.

"Where were you two?" Ms. Kennedy asked. "I heard something happened."

"Emma got hit with a slushie," Will started.

"So, he was helping me and I had to get cleaned up," Emma finished, nodding.

Ms. Kennedy smiled. "I'm glad you two are getting along well so I'll excuse the tardy. Now, we're going over good study habits, so go sit down." They both nodded and found their seats.

* * *

After homeroom ended, Will approached his group of friends outside the classroom. "What the heck, Cody?" Will yelled. "Why'd you do that to her?"

The girls gaped while Jensen and Ryan looked away. "Calm down," Cody laughed. "It was just a joke."

"Well, it wasn't funny!" Will snapped. "I can't believe you, man. Really. Out of everyone, you just had to pick Emma."

"I didn't pick Emma, your girlfriend did!" Cody exclaimed. "Terri told me to throw it at her, okay?"

Will stared at Terri, hurt. "Did you say that?" he whispered.

"Say what?" Terri asked, feigning cluelessness.

"Did you tell Cody to throw the slushie at Emma?!" Will demanded.

"No," Terri replied. "I would never do that."

Will glanced between Cody and Terri and didn't know what to believe anymore. "Cody…are you lying?" he mumbled.

Cody glanced at Terri who was glaring at him. "Yeah…sorry, Will, I really am. I-I really didn't mean to and just…please forgive me, please."

"How can you not mean to?" Will asked, softly. "How could you not mean to throw a slushie at her?"

"I didn't think of the outcome," Cody replied. "Really, I swear."

Will shook his head. "You know she has germ problems…OCD, for Christ's sake!"

"I-I know and I'm really sorry. I swear, I'll be nicer, I'll apologize to her. I'll never pick on someone again, ever. Please," Cody pleaded.

Will sighed. He didn't like fighting or being mad at people in general so he caved. "It…it's okay but I want you to apologize to her, okay? And don't do it again. Sorry for yelling at you." The only thing that was keeping Will from giving in to his aggression was his promise to Emma.

Cody nodded. "You don't need to be sorry, I was a jerk. I'll say sorry to her, I promise, and thank you."

"Okay," Will replied. "It's okay." The only reason why he wasn't clobbering the crap out of his so-called friend was Emma. She didn't want him to fight. So he didn't. Instead, he could kill people with kindness.

* * *

After school, Emma was sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking a smoothie. The rest of the day had flown by smoothly. She'd eaten lunch with Will and laughed the whole hour, he had a way of cheering her up. He'd given her back the journal at the end of the day and they'd said their goodbyes. Now, Emma just wished it was Saturday morning already so that she could hang out with him. No one had come home yet; her parents were running errands and her siblings were with friends. Emma heard the door open and she smiled. "Who's there?" she called.

"Mom," Rose replied. "How are you, honey?"

"Good," Emma replied. Rose walked through the door, carrying a bag of groceries. "Where's dad?" Emma asked.

"Oh, he's taking James and a few of his friends to the football game tonight. Your friend's playing right?" Rose explained.

Emma smiled. "Yeah, Will's playing." Rose finally turned around and noticed her sweatshirt.

"Where'd you get that?" Rose grinned.

"Um, it's Will's, he gave it to me. I got in a bit of a mess in school and he helped me out by giving it to me," Emma explained.

"Is that so?" Rose smirked.

"Yeah, he's a really good friend," Emma commented. "I'm tutoring him tomorrow and we're going to the mall afterwards."

"Sounds fun," Rose smiled. "He is coming for dinner on Monday, right?"

"Yup," Emma said. Her phone rang and she dug it out of her pocket. _Cookie Monster_. "Um, I have to take this."

Rose laughed as Emma exited the room. "Hello?" Emma answered.

"Hey," Will replied.

"I thought you had a football game tonight," Emma smiled, imagining him in his uniform.

"I do," Will started. "It starts in ten minutes; I snuck off to the bathroom."

Emma laughed. "Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you, silly," Will explained. "Did Cody apologize to you?"

"Yeah, actually he did," Emma replied.

"Good. I told him to, I forgave him, if that's okay with you," Will admitted. "He felt really bad."

"I could tell."

"Yeah…" Will hesitated. "I wish you were here at the game."

"I know," Emma said. "And I'm going to come to one, I promise, and then every one after that. I'll go after you sing for me, remember?"

"Darn," Will laughed. "I was so hoping you'd forgot about that."

Emma laughed. "How could I? An opportunity to hear Will Schuester sing? Too good to pass up."

Will laughed, picturing her bright brown eyes looking up at him. He heard the team gathering up in the locker room; the whoops and hollers echoing off the walls. Will groaned. "I think the team's coming back."

"Well, you should get back to them," Emma suggested, even though she had no intention of him leaving.

"Yeah, probably should," Will murmured.

"Well, good luck, I know you'll do great," Emma assured him. "My dad and brother are actually going to the game so they'll fill me in."

"Cool, maybe I'll see them there," Will replied. "It'll give me good luck."

"If it helps," Emma started. "I am still wearing your hoodie and t-shirt. To support you without being there…and they're really warm and comfy." Emma laughed and Will's heart swelled with unknown warmth. It made him blush, even though he was all alone, just the fact that Emma was still wearing that for him.

"I think that now," Will paused. "I'll definitely win the game because of you, Em."

Emma could now feel her cheeks heat up and was sure that her mom was walking around the house, straining to hear their conversation. "You would win anyways."

"Eh, that's debatable," Will laughed.

"Trust me, you would, Mr. Macho Athlete Boy," Emma teased.

Will was blushing again, was she flirting with him? Or was his mind just getting ahead of himself? He was sure that this was just a typical boy/girl friendship, except it meant so much more to him. "Aw, thank you." He could hear the locker room getting louder and was sure that he heard Jensen calling his name.

"I think they're looking for you," Emma said.

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow and good luck with your game, Will," Emma smiled.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow," Will replied. As the both hung up, Jensen jogged over to him, out of breath.

The boy ran a hand through his wavy blond hair and stopped in front of Will. "What were you doing, Will? We were all waiting for you."

"Sorry," Will sighed. "I had to take a call."

"Emma?" Jensen guessed, smiling.

"Um, yeah," Will mumbled, following his friend out of the locker room.

"Don't worry," Jensen assured him. "I'm not going to tell anyone…they're all being jerks about this, anyways."

Will looked at his friend for a moment, shocked. "Thanks, man. I just think that Terri doesn't understand."

Jensen nodded. "Well, it's not too often that you have a guy and a girl that are best friends, all of a sudden and somehow have amazing chemistry."

Will froze in his steps. "What?"

"Nothing," Jensen smirked. "It's just that I've never really seen that girl warm up to anyone in our grade, especially that fast."

"Yeah, I guess," Will mumbled, walking through the locker room doorway.

"Just be careful," Jensen warned. "Terri can be pretty…protective."

Will sighed. "I've noticed."

"No wonder it's nice to hang out with Emma; a nice break from Terri's controlling grip over you," Jensen mused.

Will nodded, though he hadn't really thought of it that way. "I do like Terri though. Her and Emma are just different."

"Different is good," Jensen agreed.

"Great," Will said, smiling to himself.

* * *

It was now Saturday morning and Will was eagerly awaiting Emma's arrival. He hadn't heard from her since before last night's game but she said she would come over at eleven, like last time. Jewell was in the den, watching the news. The only channels they could afford were the local ones, so naturally news was usually occupying their screen. Just then, the doorbell rang, snapping Will out of his thoughts. "William, get the door!" Jewell called. "Emma's here!"

"I know," Will replied, bolting to the front door. He quickly unlocked the door before swinging it open and smiling at the redhead before him. "Hey Em, how are you?" he asked, ushering her inside.

"I'm good and you?" Emma replied, following Will down the familiar hall and into his room.

"Doing good," Will smiled, plopping down on his bed. Emma sat down next to him, close enough so that their knees were brushing against each other.

"So, I heard that you won your game yesterday," Emma smirked.

"Oh yeah," Will nodded.

"My brother thought you were amazing, actually, knew you were amazing," Emma informed him. "Four touchdown passes and one rush, quite the quarterback."

Will waved a hand. "I wasn't that good. The whole team was amazing last night…we were working hard as a team."

"Sure…" Emma teased. "Gosh, you will never admit to how good you are, will you?"

Will laughed, shaking his head. "Probably not."

Emma smiled at him and reached for his backpack; which was lying on the floor. "Do you have a lot of homework today?" Emma asked.

Will started digging through his backpack, papers flying every which way. He pulled out his Physics textbook and a notebook. "Um, not really a lot. Just Physics homework."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "It's a Saturday, Will, how can you not have a lot of homework? It's the weekend." She peered over his shoulder and into his backpack. When Will didn't respond right away, she grabbed the backpack and began rifling through it. "See? You have English stuff and math in here, too. Why are you lying?" Emma sighed.

A flicker of disbelief and hurt passed over Will's face for a quick second. "I-I'm not lying. I did my math and English yesterday, after my game. So that we could have more time to hang out at the mall. I wouldn't lie to you."

"Oh," Emma mumbled. "Sorry…I just thought that maybe you were trying to skip that homework. Not that I think you would, no, just thought maybe."

Will nodded, understanding. "It's fine, I would think the same, if I was in your position."

"Do you mind if I take a look at the homework that you did yesterday? I just want to see how you're coming along," Emma offered.

"To see if I'm getting better?" Will interjected.

"Yeah," Emma replied. "May I?"

"Sure." Will handed her his math folder and English notebook and was silent for a few minutes, as she read them over. Emma put down both his assignments and smiled at him. "What?"

"Will!" Emma cried. "You did awesome! I'm so proud of you."

Will beamed. "I-I did?"

"Yeah," Emma exclaimed, playfully nudging his shoulder. "You only had like a few spelling mistakes and you only got five math problems wrong."

Will's face lit up. "I just hope that I can do that well on the spelling test on Wednesday."

Emma nodded, remembering their deal. If Will failed that test, then on the next Saturday, they would have to take him to get tested for dyslexia. "I think you'll do just fine, if we study together on Monday."

"Yeah, I hope so," Will agreed. He glanced back at his Physics homework and then at Emma. "The sooner I get it done, the sooner we can go."

Emma laughed. "That's a smart way to think." She picked up his homework and he scooted closer to her and they began.

About an hour later, Will and Emma had finished up the grueling science assignment. Will was stuffing the homework back into his backpack. He turned back to Emma and smiled. "We can go now, just let me get my stuff."

"And tell Jewell," Emma added.

"Oh yeah," Will replied. "And that."

Emma laughed as Will scrambled around the room, searching for unknown objects. "Will…what are you looking for?" she asked.

"My wallet," Will sighed, flipping over his pillow to reveal flannel pajama pants.

"Check your pockets," Emma advised.

"It's not in there," Will started, digging into his pocket before pulling out a black wallet. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh," Emma smirked. Will blushed, shrugging. "You should probably grab a sweatshirt; it's a little cold out there."

Will nodded before rifling through his dresser drawers. He pulled out a red American Eagle tight-fitting sweatshirt and glanced at Emma. "This one good?"

"Sure," Emma agreed, a little surprised that he was even asking her opinion. She watched as Will pulled the sweatshirt on over his t-shirt. He was wearing tan khaki cargo pants and was currently pulling on a pair of black Converse low-tops.

Will rose from his bed, grinning at his best friend. "Ready," he announced.

"Okay, let's go," Emma said, walking out of the room with Will following close behind. "Is Jewell in the den?"

"Yup," Will nodded, stepping into the room. Jewell looked up from the news and smiled at the two of them.

"Are you two going somewhere?" Jewell asked.

"Yeah, the mall, remember?" Will replied.

"Of course I remember," Jewell smiled, as Will rolled his eyes, knowing she didn't. "Well, have fun and don't spend too much, Will. Look for the stuff on sale."

"I know," Will sighed.

"See you later," Emma added.

"Goodbye dears," Jewell waved. They walked to the front door and Emma slipped on her jacket and ballet flats.

"Got everything?" Will asked, turning the doorknob.

Emma adjusted her Vera Bradley purse on her shoulder and smiled at him. "Yup, let's go." Will opened the door and the two walked to Emma's car. The fifteen minute car ride to the mall was filled with non-stop laughter along with fun and silly conversations. It was simple and that's what Will liked the most. He didn't have to force himself to do anything around Emma; not forced laughter or smiles, just real ones. As they walked through the front doors of Lima Mall, Emma smiled at Will. "What stores do you usually go to?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, Victoria's Secret," Will replied with a straight face.

Emma's face paled and she froze in her tracks. Will burst out laughing. "God, I was just kidding, Em. Did you really think that?" Will laughed.

Emma's face turned bright red and she rolled her eyes at him, though she couldn't keep the smile off her face. "No, of course not. I just…not funny, Will."

"Then how come you're smiling?" Will quipped.

Because you're adorable, Emma almost said. "Okay, it was kind of funny." Was what actually escaped her lips.

Will smirked. "You should've seen your face."

"I'm sure it was pretty bad," Emma laughed.

"Actually," Will started. "It was pretty cute."

Emma felt herself blush again before willing herself to pull it together. "Well, thank you. But where do you usually shop for your clothes?"

Will glanced around the mall, the lights from store signs illuminating his hazel eyes. "American Eagle, Hollister, Nike, and Old Navy…always from the clearance rack, in case you're wondering."

Emma nodded. "Sales are good. Where do you want to go first?"

Will shrugged. "You can choose."

"American Eagle?" Emma suggested.

"Sounds great," Will smiled. "I think it's the next store over."

"It is," Emma agreed, following Will into the store.

Will paused in front of the boys' clothing side. "Um, you don't have to look at guys' clothes with me. You can look at things for you, if you want."

"No, it's fine," Emma replied. "I want to look with you."

Will smiled. "Okay." The two weaved through the girls' clothing racks towards the boys' stuff. "The clearance rack is in the back," Will announced.

Emma nodded, walking towards it. She rifled through some long sleeve shirts before glancing behind her shoulder at Will. "What size are you?"

"Just medium," Will replied. Emma nodded and Will moved next to her. He glanced at some shirts before Emma tapped his shoulder.

"I think I found some stuff."

"Really?" Will smiled.

"Yeah," Emma nodded. She held up a thin gray, purple, and white striped hoodie against Will's chest before he could say anything. "It looks like it would fit…do you like it?"

"It's pretty cool-looking," Will commented. He flipped over the price tag and nodded. "Only fifteen bucks. So for a hoodie, that's pretty good."

"Great," Emma exclaimed. "I have two more at a two for ten dollars deal." She handed him a blue long sleeve with thin black stripes and a plain green long sleeve. "What do you think?"

"Perfect," Will replied. "Thanks."

"Do you want to go check out now?" Emma asked.

"Did you want to buy anything?" Will wondered.

"Oh no, I have plenty of clothes, trust me," Emma assured him.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now come on," Emma said, leading him to the register. Will quickly paid for the clothes and then the two of them walked out of the store.

"Where to?" Will asked, swinging the American Eagle bag from side to side.

"I don't know yet, wherever you want," Emma replied, glancing at the stores they were passing.

Will shrugged, walking past a Gap store.

"Oh! Let's go to Gap," Emma suggested.

Will turned around. "For you?"

"No, for you," Emma replied, walking up to him.

"Isn't that like dressy clothes and stuff?" Will asked.

"No, they have some shirts that would look great on you," Emma said. Will looked at her, doubtfully. "Just trust me," Emma insisted.

"O-okay," Will mumbled. Emma reached to take his arm and drag him but Will took her hand instead. Emma looked down at their intertwined hands and then back up at Will, who met her eyes at the same moment. He smiled and Emma knew right there and then that she for sure, had a crush on her best friend. Will squeezed her hand as they stepped into the store.

"The boys' clothes are towards the back of the store along with the clearance," Emma explained, leading him there.

Once they reached the area, Emma dropped his hand and walked over to a rack. Surprisingly, Will wished immediately that she hadn't. It felt like he had held her hand millions of times before. It felt like home. "What exactly are you looking for?" Will managed to ask after a few seconds.

"Clothes for you, silly," Emma replied, lifting up folded shirts and putting down other ones.

"Like I said before, these all look a bit dressy," Will mumbled.

"Dressy how?" Emma asked, still not turning around.

Will glanced around and ran a hand through his chestnut curls; a nervous habit. "Like sweaters, khakis, and button downs, and stuff."

Emma turned around and handed Will a folded shirt. Will looked down; it was a white button down with black and red lines on it, forming a plaid pattern. "It isn't too dressy," Emma mentioned.

Will sighed, holding it up. "I'll look like a nerd."

"Then we can be nerds together," Emma smiled.

Will laughed. "Want me to try it on?"

"Yes," Emma said, smiling at him. "The changing rooms are back there." She pointed to the doors behind them. "I'll wait right here."

"Okay," Will agreed, walking into the door. Emma waited patiently and a few minutes later, Will walked back out. The shirt fit him perfectly, hugging his biceps slightly and showing the white t-shirt underneath. Will had left it untucked and it made it look a lot cuter that way to Emma. Will shoved his hands in his khaki's pockets, a little embarrassed. "What do you think?"

Emma smiled, noting how the khakis matched the shirt. "You look…"

"Dorky?" Will suggested.

"No, you look handsome," Emma replied, softly. Will blushed; Terri had never called him that. Just hot or sexy, which Will secretly disliked. Emma walked up to him, slowly. "Just let me fix the collar." She stepped close to him and placed her hands on his neck, straightening it out. "Perfect," she murmured, stepping away.

"Thanks," Will mumbled. Now that he knew that Emma liked the shirt, he had to get it. "How much is it?"

"Only seven dollars," Emma replied.

"I'm getting it," Will announced.

Emma sighed. "Don't. You obviously don't like it and you don't have to waste your money, just because I like something on you."

Will smiled, he would waste a million dollars if she liked something. "The fact that you like it, makes me like it," he admitted, blushing.

Emma's cheeks reddened. "Well, in that case, I can't wait to see you wearing it."

About an hour later, they were entering Old Navy. They had gotten the shirt from Gap and glanced around Hollister but had no luck. "I love this store," Emma mused, following Will to the boys' clothing.

"Why?" Will wondered.

"I don't know, just like the clothes," Emma replied. Will nodded, glancing at some graphic tees. "Do you like graphic tees?"

"Why?"

"You seem like the type," Emma admitted.

Will bit his lip. "Terri doesn't really like them so much."

"So?" Emma smiled. "I could see you eyeing that _Tom & Jerry _one since we walked in."

Will laughed. "Well, they are all on clearance…"

"Come on, let's look," Emma urged him. She picked the _Tom & Jerry _one of the rack and held it up. She laughed, "I think this is a winner." Emma tossed it at Will and he nodded.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," he agreed.

Emma picked up a _Super Mario Bros. _one and smiled. "This videogame is awesome."

"So is the shirt," Will commented, holding it up to himself. "I think I'll get it and one more."

"Which one?" Emma asked, glancing at the selection.

Will skimmed over some before stopping on one. It was a _Spiderman _one with a comic cover on the front. "This one, MJ."

Emma laughed, remembering their Spiderman joke. "I like it."

"So do I," Will agreed, tossing it on his arm, where he was holding the rest. Will glanced behind Emma and spotted a sunglasses rack and laughed.

"What?" Emma asked, understanding as she spun around. "Oh nice."

Will walked up to it and started pulling pairs off the display. He slipped on a pair of mirrored aviators and glanced at Emma. "What do you think?"

Emma laughed, pulling out her phone. "I need a picture of this." Will posed, giving a thumbs-up, before picking out another pair. He laughed as he grabbed black Ray-Bans style ones with a mustache hanging by a chain, underneath it. Will tried them on and the plastic mustache fell right above his lip. He stuck his tongue out at Emma and she took a picture. He pulled off a pair of red Ray-Bans style glasses with yellow mirrored glass and placed them on his face, as Emma continued taking pictures. After a few minutes, Will turned to face her, smirking.

"Your turn," he claimed, pulling out his cell.

"No," Emma laughed. "I don't want to."

"Hey, there are tons of embarrassing pictures of me on your phone now…we need to even it out," Will explained. "Please," he pleaded, jutting out his bottom lip.

Emma laughed. "You're such a goofball."

"But you like me anyways," Will teased.

Emma nodded. "Yes I do." She grabbed the mustache glasses. "Let's make this quick."

Will pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!" He took a few pictures of Emma and showed them to her. "My new background."

Emma blushed, knowing that he would see that all the time. "Stop it," she smiled.

"What? Keep going," Will replied, innocently. After a few minutes, Will paused. "We need some pictures of both of us."

"Really?" Emma beamed.

"Of course." Will pulled on the red Ray-Bans and handed the mustache ones back to Emma. He wrapped an arm around her and bent his head down to hers, so that their faces were touching. Emma could feel the warmth from his breath as he snapped picture after picture. He claimed they weren't stopping until he had fifty pictures of Emma on his phone. When Emma asked why, he replied, in case I miss you.

"That was fun," Will remarked, as they walked out of Old Navy together. Emma had ended up buying a few pairs of sunglasses, including the mustached one.

"It was," Emma agreed. "Did you have lunch yet?"

Will glanced at a nearby clock, it was nearly four. "Nope. Want to have a late one?"

"Sure," Emma nodded. "Do you like Auntie Ann's? The soft pretzel place."

"Love it," Will smiled. The two walked into the restaurant, smiling and laughing the whole way. As they waited in line, they shared their orders with each other. Turns out, they both love cinnamon sugar and hate mustard.

"What can I get for you guys?" the cashier asked.

"I'll have a large cinnamon sugar pretzel," Will informed him. He glanced at Emma.

"And for your girlfriend?" the guy asked.

Emma blushed and expected Will to correct the guy but Will just smiled and said, "Cinnamon sugar as well."

"Okay, that'll be eight twenty-nine. Is it together or separate?"

"Sep…" Emma started.

"Together," Will cut her off. "I'm paying." A minute later, Will had paid for their food and they were seated at a booth together.

"You didn't have to pay for this," Emma said, biting into her pretzel.

"Well, I wanted to," Will quipped.

Emma knew that he shouldn't have, especially when she was the one with a lot more money. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Will replied, dipping his pretzel into the glaze.

"How come you didn't correct the guy?" Emma asked.

"Correct him when?" Will wondered, oblivious.

"When he said I was your girlfriend," Emma mumbled.

"Oh," Will laughed. "Didn't feel the need to."

"You're not mad that someone like you is getting compared to me?" Emma explained.

"What do you mean someone like me? As far as I know, you're a beautiful person with a beautiful heart. I'm surprised that you're not mad," Will replied, smiling.

Emma blushed. "So you're not?"

"Not mad?" Will smiled.

"Yeah."

"No," Will said, taking her hand from across the table. "Not at all."

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? Too long? Sorry that it took me so long to update, I was really busy with school and basketball. Hopefully the length of this chapter made up for it. Can you guys believe that Finn kissed Emma? I was like screaming at him…but he didn't hear me cause he's in the tv. :P I was so mad. Well, don't forget to follow me on tumblr; I will follow anyone and everyone back. My name's iluvwillschuester. I'll really try to update sooner, sorry guys. Please leave a review. Did anyone else have a lot of snow? We got a snow day on Friday. ;) Also, I was totally going to post this yesterday but then FF was being retarded and didn't let me. :P R&R! ;)**


	8. Chapter 8- Running Away

Chapter 8- Running Away

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Sorry that I couldn't get this out within a week, but at least this time it didn't take two. :P I keep feeling really bad because usually I'm so much better at updating than this but I've never had to write during basketball season. So, did you guys all cry during 'I Do'? I'm still not emotionally stable after that. Screw RIB, I'm gonna write a story about how some things should've gone for Wemma. Well, anyways, here's the chapter. ;)**

* * *

It was Sunday morning, around eight, and Will was walking down the hall of his home. He knocked on Jewell's door a few times, waiting for her to answer. "Jewell?" Will called. "Grandma, are you awake?"

"Five more minutes, William," Jewell mumbled.

Will smiled, poking his head in the room. Sure enough, Jewell was snuggled under her covers, attempting to hide from the sunlight. Will walked in, opening the drapes on the window, as sunlight streaked in. He walked over to Jewell's bed and sat down beside her, leaning over and pecking her on the cheek.

Jewell sighed, opening her eyes. "Not everyone wants to wake up at the crack of dawn, Will," Jewell mumbled, smiling anyways.

"Sorry," Will replied. He glanced at the clock. "And it's already eight, so…pretty sure that's not dawn."

Jewell laughed, sitting up in bed. "Is there a reason why my grandson has forced me to wake up at this ungodly hour?"

Will nodded, quickly. "I was wondering if I could go to Waffle World with Emma."

"You mean that diner behind the gas station?" Jewell asked.

"Yup, the one that…" Will drifted off, running a hand through his curls.

"I remember," Jewell replied, patting him on the back. "Are you guys going to go now?"

"Yeah, I guess for breakfast. I already made you scrambled eggs and bacon," Will explained. "They're on the kitchen counter."

"Aw, thank you, sweetie." Jewell slowly got out from under the covers and slipped on her slippers. "You can go call Emma now; I have to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, thanks!" Will exclaimed, dashing out of the room. Will reached into his jean's pocket and pulled out his Nokia. He scrolled through his contacts until he reached Emma's name. Will clicked on it and held the phone to his ear, hoping she would pick up. On the third ring, he heard the sweet familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello?" Emma mumbled. "Will, is this you?"

"Hey Em, it's Will," Will replied.

Emma sighed. "Do you know what time it is?"

Will glanced at the kitchen clock. "Um, it's eight-fifteen right now."

"And you're awake?" Emma exclaimed, sitting up in bed.

"Uh yeah…I woke you up, didn't I?" Will sighed. "I'm sorry."

Emma could tell that he actually was sorry but wasn't mad at him at all. "No, it's fine, Will. I don't mind, I should've been awake already. So, what was it that you needed?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go somewhere with me," Will informed her.

"Now?" Emma asked, staring into the mirror and seeing her messy hair and rumpled pajamas.

"Yeah, if it's okay with your parents," Will said.

"Will," Emma started. "I'm in my pajamas."

"So? You can wear that if you want, I don't mind."

Emma laughed. "That's easy for you to say. You wouldn't be the one wearing your pajamas out in public." Emma smiled, imagining what Will would look like walking around in flannel pajama pants.

"I'll wear my pajamas with you then; so you won't be alone," Will offered, sincerely.

Emma almost had to stop herself from 'aww-ing' out loud. It seemed like there was nothing that Will could say or do wrong to her. "No, no, it's fine," Emma smiled. "I guess I was going to have to get dressed today at some point, anyways."

"Okay," Will smiled. "Good, you wouldn't want to see me in pajamas…it can get pretty ugly."

Emma laughed. "You? Ugly? I don't think that's possible."

Will grinned to himself; he was beginning to love all her compliments, especially those that could pass off as subtle flirting. "Eh, that's debatable."

Emma smiled. "So, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," Will replied.

"Aw, come on," Emma teased. "You wake me up and then won't even let me know where we're going? Not fair, Schuester."

"You'll like it, I promise," Will assured her.

"What place is open at eight-something in the morning, anyways?" Emma wondered, digging through her closet for clothes.

"A good place," Will said, grinning. "Trust me."

"I do," Emma murmured. She remembered how before she met Will; he was the boy with all the trust issues, never opening up to anyone. And now, he wasn't afraid to let his guard down for Emma. This truly made her proud of him. She clutched the phone in between her ear and shoulder. "Let me just ask my mom if I can go."

"Okay," Will smiled.

Emma held the phone to her chest and marched down the hall, in search of an adult. "Mom?" she called. "Mom?"

Rose appeared out of the laundry room, carrying a basket of James' clothes. "Hey sweetie, you're up early."

"Oh, um, yeah I guess so," Emma stuttered, already embarrassed. It seemed that when Will wasn't around and she thought of him, all she could do was blush. "Where's Dad?"

"He and the guys went out for food for the football game later, or something," Rose explained, scurrying down the hall.

"Well, I was wondering if I could go somewhere with Will now," Emma stated, sitting as her mom began folding laundry.

"Will? Hmm, no wonder, you're never up this early," Rose laughed. "Is he on the phone now? Tell him I said hi and not to forget about dinner tomorrow night."

Emma groaned. "Shh! He can probably hear you, Mom!" She glanced back down at the phone, praying that Will couldn't hear this. "So, can I go?"

"Where are you going?" Rose asked.

Emma rolled her eyes, laughing. "It's a surprise."

"Then go right ahead, don't want to keep the poor guy waiting on the phone forever," Rose smirked.

"Thanks," Emma exclaimed, darting out of the room. Once she was back in the comfort of her room, she placed the phone back to her ear. "Will?"

"I'm here," he replied.

"I can go. Just let me eat some breakfast first."

"Actually…could you not eat breakfast?" Will mentioned, hoping she wouldn't ask why.

"Um, sure," Emma replied, figuring it had something to do with where they were going. "Do you need me to drive us there?"

"No, we can walk," Will explained. "Do you want to meet me at my house?"

"Okay." Emma glanced at the clock. "I'll be there in five minutes."

* * *

About five or so minutes later, Emma had turned onto Will's street. It was a nice October day; the sun was splashing light onto the sidewalk despite it being the early hours of the day. It wasn't too cold either, Emma just wearing a hoodie. As Emma approached Will's house, she spotted him in the window. Emma smiled at him and waved as she made her way up the driveway. Will waved back before sticking his tongue out, playfully, and scrambling towards the door. Emma laughed as she waited for him to open the door. She heard some fumbling with the locks on the other side before the door finally swung open. "Hey," Will breathed.

"Struggling over there?" Emma teased.

Will glanced back at the door. "You know…just a bit." He smiled warmly at her, taking in her appearance. Emma's auburn hair was in a loose bun; a few tendrils hanging over her face. Will wished he could reach out and push them back for her. But in his role as best friend, this would be considered inappropriate. "Hey, you're wearing my hoodie," Will commented, beaming.

Emma glanced down, indeed she was. She was dressed in Will's football hoodie, dark blue skinny jeans, and chocolate colored Uggs. "Um yeah…is that weird? I can take it off," Emma stammered, mentally cursing herself. She started pulling off the sweatshirt before Will placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"No," he started. "Keep it on. It looks better on you than it did on me."

Emma laughed. "Is that the Spiderman t-shirt?" she asked.

Will nodded; he was wearing jeans, the new Spiderman t-shirt, an unzipped green hoodie, and his trademark black Converse. "Yeah," Will said. "I thought I'd get MJ's opinion on how it looks."

Emma blushed at the nickname. "It looks great."

"Thanks," Will replied, winking cheekily.

Emma shook her head; sometimes Will could be such a goofball. "Are you ready to go?"

Will patted his back pocket, checking for his wallet; nodding to himself. "Yup." He turned back towards the house. "Bye Jewell!" Will yelled down the hall.

"Have fun," Jewell called back.

Will closed the door behind him as he stepped out of the house. He bounded down the porch steps and followed Emma down the driveway. "This way," he directed, turning left.

Emma nodded. "So…are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope," Will smirked. "Why so many questions?"

Emma shrugged. "Maybe because for all I know, you could be kidnapping me and taking me to…I don't know. Pluto?"

Will raised an eyebrow. "Because I obviously look like a kidnapper?"

"Pretty much," Emma laughed.

Will clutched his ribcage and doubled over in pretend pain. He spun around on his heel, collapsing on someone's lawn. "Oh…the pain!" Will exclaimed, rolling amongst the leaves.

Emma laughed, blushing. "Will, get up."

"My heart hurts too much," he joked, looking up at her.

"God, you're such a doofus," Emma replied, shaking her head. She held out a hand for him to take. "Come on."

Will reached up and took her hand. In one swift motion, he leapt to his feet like an acrobat. As Emma let go of his hand, it was obvious that she was impressed. "Wow," Will gushed. "You're so strong, Em."

"W-what?" Emma questioned, as they continued walking.

"You just pulled me up like a pro," Will lied, smiling.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Are you delusional?"

"No." Will winked. "Just brilliant…who would've thought that Emma Pillsbury was so strong?"

"Definitely not me," Emma murmured.

"That was so cool, Em. You're like the Hulk…except smaller and less green," Will praised.

Emma laughed. "What will it take for you to stop?"

Will tapped his chin, thoughtfully. "How about…holding my hand for the rest of the way?" he suggested, shyly.

"That can be arranged," Emma smiled, intertwining her hand into his.

"I was hoping so," Will replied, although he was actually serious.

"Are we close to Pluto?" Emma asked, as Will swung their hands back and forth.

"Pluto?" Will raised an eyebrow. He noticed that Emma hadn't yelled at him when he was swinging their hands back and forth, like Terri had. It was most definitely a nice change.

"That's what I'm calling it until I know where we're going," Emma explained.

"Ah," Will nodded. "It's right there." He pointed to the local gas station.

"You woke me up at eight so you could show me the gas station?" Emma teased. Honestly, he could wake her up every day at eight for no reason and she wouldn't mind.

"Nope," Will shook his head. "For what's behind the gas station."

Now that Emma thought of it, she had no clue what was behind the gas station. "I don't know what's back there."

"Not many people do," Will mentioned, as they approached the gas station.

"So can I go back there or…"

"Wait," Will cautioned. He placed his hands over her eyes. "Surprise, remember?"

"How am I supposed to walk?" Emma wondered.

"Just trust me, I'll guide you." Will kept his hands covering Emma's eyes and began walking.

"I feel like I'm going to trip," Emma remarked, nervously.

"Just trust me," Will assured her. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, ever." Emma felt her face flush as Will led her on about fifty more feet to the destination.

"Are we there yet?" Emma asked.

"Yup," Will smiled. He slowly uncovered her eyes. "Welcome to Waffle World." Emma looked in front of her. There was a small cozy-like diner with letters across the top spelling out 'Waffle World' and signs in the windows advertising their specials. "It's like a small breakfast diner thing…just thought you might like it," Will explained.

Emma grinned, nodding. "It looks cool."

"It is cool," Will agreed.

"How come a lot of people don't know about it?" Emma asked.

"Not many people go behind the gas station's Dumpsters," Will laughed.

"Ah," Emma nodded, smiling. "Did you want to go in?"

"Of course," Will replied. "I wouldn't bring you out here just to look at it."

"Right," Emma mumbled, as they walked to the entrance.

Will grabbed the door handle and swung it open for her. "After you, Cinderella."

Emma blushed and entered the restaurant. It was actually very clean for a diner and smelled like waffles and pancakes; the maple odor wafting through the air. There were some stools at the counter and booths lined the walls. There was only two other people there; an elderly couple seated in the front booth. "It's really nice," Emma commented.

Will nodded. "Here," Will said, taking her hand, gently. "Let's go to the back." He led her to the booth in the back, by a window. Emma slid in one side and Will sat himself across from her; reluctantly letting go of her hand.

"Are you going to order something?" Emma asked. "I mean, you don't have to…I just…I…never mind," she stuttered.

Will laughed. "Yeah, I'm going to get some food for us. That's why I brought you here; for breakfast." Just then, a woman who looked to be about mid-thirties approached them; wearing an apron and a nametag that read Cathy.

"Hey sugar," Cathy greeted Will. "How've you been?"

"Good and you?" Will replied.

"I'm doing well," Cathy said, glancing at Emma. "And who's your friend?" She winked at Will.

"This is Emma," Will said, motioning to her. "Emma, this is Cathy, she works here."

"Nice to meet you," Emma said.

"Nice to meet you too," Cathy nodded. "Will doesn't usually bring company."

Will rolled his eyes. "Guess not." Cathy smirked and leaned over; whispering something in his ear. Emma guessed that what she said might have something to do with her, because Will turned bright red.

"The usual, hon?" Cathy smirked.

"I…uh…huh," Will stuttered, clearly embarrassed. Emma was staring at him and he was pretty sure that his face was the color of her hair.

"Is that a yes?" Cathy asked, whipping out her order pad.

Will nodded, averting his eyes from both women. "And what would you like?" she asked Emma.

Emma glanced at Will. "I'll have what he's having."

Cathy nodded, stuffing the pad back into her apron pocket. "I'll have Darren get right on it." As Cathy walked away, Emma laughed at Will.

"What was going on?" Emma asked.

Will looked back at the kitchen before looking back at Emma. "Nothing," he finally managed to say.

"Really?" Emma challenged. "Because your cheeks are still bright red and your ears look like someone burned them. It seems to me that someone looks a little embarrassed."

Will bit his lip, looking up at Emma with innocent hazel eyes. "Oh, um, well, yeah…she was just asking about you. S-she thought you were my girlfriend and, um, was teasing me about it."

"Oh," Emma nodded, secretly happy. "I see. So, you come here a lot?"

"Yeah, I do," Will agreed.

"Must be a lot, since the people here know you and you have a 'usual,'" Emma remarked.

"Yeah, this place is kinda special to me," Will admitted.

"Why?" Emma wondered. "I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"Um, my mom actually starting taking me here, when I was little. She'd take me here every Sunday morning…it was kind of our thing," Will explained. "She stopped though, when I was in sixth grade, you know, when everything fell apart. But I still came, uh, every Sunday night, after everyone was asleep."

"By yourself?" Emma asked.

Will nodded. "Yeah, the place is open twenty four hours. I'd walk here around ten at night and just order something small or nothing at all, they didn't mind. It was just a place to…"

"Escape," Emma offered.

Will looked up at her and smiled. "Exactly, I was just able to clear my mind and not have to worry about everyone when I was here."

"And the workers didn't think it was weird that you came alone?" Emma questioned.

Will shook his head. "Nope, they had known me for years before I started coming alone and no one questioned it. I remember that they were always asking me if I was okay, though."

Emma leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Do any of them know?"

"No," Will replied. "They probably put the pieces together and figured out that something was going on, though. Cathy's been here since I was two; back then she was in college, so we're kind of close."

Emma nodded. "That's nice that you have this place to escape from reality."

"Only I don't want to escape from all reality," Will admitted. "That's why I brought you here; to keep me sane a bit."

Emma laughed. She was touched by Will allowing her into his little world, it was sweet. It was in these little moments, that he let his guard down and his long built-up walls came crumbling down, allowing Emma to see what their grade didn't. The broken soldier that was Will Schuester. "I'm glad you brought me here," Emma uttered, for a moment lost in her daydream about him. "I really like it."

Cathy walked up to their table, holding two plates. She set them both in front of the friends; they were loaded with waffles and sausage and scrambled eggs on the side. "Here you go, guys," Cathy announced.

Will pulled out his wallet but Cathy shook her head. "Not today, bud. This one's on the house."

"Are you sure?" Will hesitated.

"Absolutely," Cathy nodded. "After all, you need to spend all your time impressing the lucky lady over here."

Emma laughed. "We're just friends."

"Mmhmm." Cathy shook her head. "That's what they all say."

Will rolled his eyes. "Really."

"Frankly, I'm a bit hurt," Cathy started. "When Will was younger, he always claimed that he was going to marry me." Emma laughed and Will ducked his head. "He'd come in here every morning and say, 'Cathy, you look beautiful today.' Made my Sunday, that little flirt. And now, look at him; quarterback of the football team and dating a pretty young woman. He grew up on me," Cathy laughed.

"Eh, yeah, guess so," Will smiled, running a hand through his chestnut curls.

"Well," Cathy announced, wiping her hands on her apron. "I'd better get back there but have fun on your date!"

"It's not a date," Emma laughed.

Cathy looked over her shoulder, as she opened the door to the kitchen. "Ooh, Will, better watch out! This one's playing hard to get." She winked and then went back to work.

Will and Emma laughed; Will's out of nervousness. "Yeah, she likes to tease me a bit," he explained.

"I can tell," Emma nodded, smiling. "She doesn't actually think we're together, does she?"

Will shrugged. "Who knows? She'll give it up eventually; she just likes to give me a hard time."

Emma glanced down at her plate of food and silverware and felt the urge to wipe it down. She reached for her purse before looking up and realizing that Will was watching her. "Oh…I…sorry," Emma murmured, setting it down.

"It's fine," Will assured her. "Actually…" he started. Will reached into his jean's pocket and pulled out a packet of Wet Ones, he handed them to her. "I, uh, I brought some for you. You know, just in case you would need any. You don't have to use them…you know, because I touched them and all."

Emma beamed. "Thank you," she said, taking them from him. "That's very sweet of you."

Will smiled shyly, as Emma wiped down her utensils and the table space in front of her. "I don't know much about OCD," he started. "But I think you do really well with it; considering the circumstances and all."

Emma looked up, her area now clean. "Thank you, Will." She lifted her fork and knife and cut off a piece of her waffle when she noticed that Will was watching her. "What?" she laughed.

"Nothing, it's just that you might be surprised…their waffles are amazing," Will warned her, smiling.

"How good can they be, Will? It's just a small diner's waffles," Emma challenged, raising an eyebrow playfully.

"Try one, I dare you," Will smirked.

"Okay, fine," Emma laughed, picking up her fork. She scooped up a piece of the waffle smothered in syrup and looked at Will. Emma put the food in her mouth and chewed as her mouth broke out into a smile.

"And?" Will asked, expectantly, as Emma swallowed.

"These are amazing, Will," Emma exclaimed. She smiled at him before adding, "You were right."

"Thought I might be," Will said. He gave her a cute crooked grin before digging into his own food.

About an hour later, Will and Emma had left the diner and were on their way home. As they reached Will's block, Emma stopped. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Emma announced.

"Why?" Will asked.

"Um, this is your block," Emma informed him.

"I know," Will replied. "I was going to walk you home, if that's okay with you."

Emma blushed. "You don't have to."

"I know but I want to," Will protested. "It's not that far and I could use the exercise."

Emma laughed, as they began walking again. "You needing exercise? You work out like every day."

"Maybe," Will shrugged.

Emma shook her head, noticing again just how different he was from the other popular boys in their grade. "You're so different," Emma murmured quietly.

"How?" Will wondered.

Emma's hand flew to her mouth, realizing that she said that out loud. "I-I…it's a good thing."

"Good how?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Well, most of your football friends are like…I don't know, really arrogant and big players."

"So I'm short?" Will mumbled.

Emma laughed. "No, no, not at all! I was talking about like players with girls…you know, flirting and stuff."

"Oh," Will realized. "I understand now…so I'm different than them?"

"Yes," Emma stated. "You're caring and kind and so sweet. And you're so humble and never show off; that and the fact that you have feelings and can be sensitive…you're pretty much the whole package. Terri must be really proud to be with you."

Will nodded, still taking in Emma's praise. "You really think that?"

"Yeah, I do," Emma replied.

"Thank you, Em," Will said, as the approached her house. "I know that to Terri; I'm probably just the same as all the rest of the jocks…but it's nice to be something different in your eyes."

"Well, maybe Terri can't see what's standing right in front of her," Emma quipped.

Will shrugged. "Maybe."

Emma looked back at her house and was pretty sure that she saw James watching through the window. "Well, I'd better get going. Um, thanks so much for taking me and for the food and…for just hanging out with me."

Will nodded. "Anytime, Em."

"See you tomorrow," Emma uttered, lost in his hazel eyes.

"We can tutor at my house and then drive to yours?" Will suggested.

"Sounds great," Emma agreed. "I think my dad's cooking on the grill tomorrow, probably hamburgers."

"Whatever he makes is good," Will replied, happily.

"Okay, well, bye," Emma said, turning around.

"Wait," Will called, jogging up to her and placing a kind hand on her shoulder.

"Wha-?" Emma started to say, as Will engulfed her in a big bear hug.

"Sorry for waking you up early," Will mumbled into her hair before stepping away.

Emma stood frozen before finally raising her hand in a wave. Will waved back innocently before walking back down the driveway and making his way home.

* * *

It was Monday's lunchtime and Will was sitting with Terri and their group in the cafeteria. Will had talked to Emma a bit during homeroom when they swapped the journal but other than that, his day was filled with Terri's rants. Will took a bite out of his cookie and nodded as Jensen talked about new football strategies. "Hey! Has anyone seen Megan today?" Terri asked, getting everyone's attention.

"She was in last hour," Aubrey commented.

"Well, where did she go?" Terri demanded. "I need to talk to her."

"I don't know where she went," Ryan exclaimed. "Why don't you text her or something?"

Terri groaned. "Fine." She reached into her pocket but came up empty. "Ugh, I left my phone in my car."

Will pulled his Nokia from his pocket and handed it to Terri. "Here, use mine."

Terri snatched his phone but then nearly dropped it when she saw his background. "What. Is. This. Will?" Terri screeched, shoving the phone in his face. It was the picture of him and Emma wearing goofy sunglasses in Old Navy.

"Uh, it's nothing, Terri," Will mumbled, taking the phone back from her.

"Really?! Because it looks like that psycho is trying to steal my boyfriend," Terri challenged, angrily. Their friends were now all looking at them; it was rare that Terri would call Will out in front of them, but it happened sometimes.

"Terri," Will sighed. "We're just friends, okay? She's helping me out with my homework and we hang out sometimes. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal, okay?" Terri replied. "It's a big deal to me and I'm your girlfriend. How would you feel if I had pictures of some other guy in our grade on my phone?"

"But you do," Will muttered. "You have Cody, Jensen, and Ryan, among other football players on your phone. So, I don't get what the big deal is."

"Fine," Terri uttered. "But you wouldn't even have to talk to her, Will, if you weren't so retarded."

Will opened his mouth, then closed it, taken aback. "You're right, I am retarded, but I'm glad because it led me to Emma." Will stood up, tossed his garbage into the trash can, and turned towards the door.

"Will, wait!" Terri cried. Will looked over his shoulder. "Where are you going?"

Will shrugged, without turning around, and began walking towards the door. He walked down the hall and bounded up the steps, on his way to his locker. When he got to the second floor, he ran to his locker; his legs and arms pumping in unison. That was something Will loved; running. It felt as if for just moments, you could run away from everything and all the pain would go away. Visions of the dark streets illuminated by dimly-lit streetlights entered his mind as he remembered the first night he went to the diner alone. He was scared that night; it was the first week that his mom started falling apart and he recalled wanting to run away to anywhere but Lima. Will had left the house once Jewell fell asleep and soon enough, the sounds of his Converse thumping against the pavement echoed through the streets. Will slid against his locker, down to the floor; as the memory overtook him.

_The cool night air whipped around Will as he ran; he had no idea where he was going, he just wanted to go. There was no one outside at this time of night; it was just him and the darkness. His footfalls echoed around the street; a secret plea for help. The young boy was out of breath but he didn't stop. The small voice in his head urged him to keep going, to keep running away from it all. Soon, his arms and legs pumped in unison and developed a steady rhythm. Will didn't even know where he was; he just kept looking forward. "Hey!" a kind voice rippled through the air, breaking the steady silence. _

_ Will squinted in the darkness ahead of him; there looked to be a young woman standing on the side of the street. He shrugged it off and kept going until she was just a few feet in front of him. "Hey kid, where are you going?" she asked, as Will finally reached her. Will shrugged and kept running, slowing his pace a bit. He stopped when he heard footsteps following him and a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Come on, just talk to me," she urged. Will finally turned around, facing her. He recognized her instantly; it was Cathy. She was a regular waitress at Waffle World and knew him. "Will? Is that you?" Cathy asked. _

_ "Uh, yeah, it's me," Will mumbled. _

_ "What are you doing out here, bud?" Cathy questioned, searching for the truth in his eyes. "Does your mom know you're out here?"_

_ Will shrugged, it's not like his mom was actually noticing anything this week. He could leave forever and she probably wouldn't notice until she needed something done for Miles. "Hmm, well, why don't we go inside?" Cathy suggested. Will bit his lip but then noticed where 'inside' was. They were in the parking lot of Waffle World. He slowly began trudging behind her. "I didn't see you or your mom and the baby this morning," Cathy mentioned. _

_ "Yeah, she was busy," Will replied. It wasn't exactly a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth. _

_ "Oh okay, well, you're here now," Cathy smiled. "How old are you again? Sixteen?" _

_ Will laughed, shaking his head. "I'm only eleven."_

_ "Eleven, huh? Well, you're pretty tall for an eleven-year-old."_

_ Will grinned; he was only five-two. "I guess."_

_ "Well, since you told me how old you are, I guess it's only fair if I do the same," Cathy replied. "I'm twenty-eight…practically a dinosaur."_

_ "A pretty dinosaur," Will complimented. _

_ Cathy laughed. "You flirt with every girl, don't you?"_

_ "Only the beautiful ones," Will quipped. _

_ Cathy smiled down at him, as they reached the entrance. "Are you hungry?" _

_ "I don't have any money," Will said. _

_ "You don't need any." A few heads looked up as they entered; there were no customers there, just the people working in the kitchen. Cathy turned to Blake, the head cook. "Can you whip up a plate of waffles, eggs, and sausage?"_

_ Blake nodded. "Sure, scrambled or fried eggs?"_

_ "Scrambled." She turned to Will. "That's what you usually get, right?" _

_ "Yeah, but you really don't have to order it now," Will protested. _

_ "Any guy who calls me beautiful gets food on the house," Cathy smirked. "Why don't you sit down?"_

_ Will obediently sat down in the nearest booth and was a bit surprised when Cathy sat across from him. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. _

_ "Doing what?"_

_ Will shrugged. "I don't know…caring. You barely even know me."_

_ "I know your order of food, I know that you're a good kid, I know that you're eleven, I know that you're a fast runner, and I know that something made you run today," Cathy explained. _

_ Will averted his eyes to the clock; it was already ten-forty five. In about an hour or so, Miles would wake up wanting milk. And of course, Will would have to feed him, as his mom would be asleep as well as Jewell. "Do you ever just want to run away?" Will asked. _

_ "Sometimes," Cathy nodded. "But most of the time, I think that we run…just to see who will chase after us. We want someone to notice that we're running…and we want them to care."_

_ "Yeah, that sounds right," Will mumbled. _

_ "So, who did you want to chase you?" Cathy asked. _

_ "Anyone," Will said, thoughtfully. "And you did, so it was okay."_

_ "Glad I could be of service," Cathy smiled. "So, are you going to be running here a lot?"_

_ Will shrugged. "Maybe." _

Will opened his eyes, luckily, the hall was deserted. He breathed in heavily a few times before standing up. He twisted the combination for his locker and it quickly opened. Will pulled out his science textbook and opened it to the first page. He squinted as he attempted to read it. The words kept swimming on the page and his head hurt. He slammed the book shut, realizing that he was never going to be able to read it. He threw the book in his backpack, along with a few others, and yanked it out of his locker. Will zipped up his backpack and tossed it on his back. He slammed his locker, angrily, and began running again. He was going to learn how to read, like a normal person, starting today. Will bounded down the steps and swerved down the hall, to the back door. He threw it open and stepped outside, slowing down. The cool air attacked him and he took a few deep breaths. Will took a step and then another and then did the thing he knew best; he ran.

* * *

Emma was driving back from Starbucks, where she went on their lunch break. Juniors and seniors were allowed to leave the building during lunch, as long as they didn't abuse their privileges. She glanced at the car clock; it was eleven-thirty, so there was thirty minutes left until fifth period began. As she waited at a traffic light, she saw a teenage boy running. He was fast, despite the fact that he was wearing a backpack. Emma wondered where he could be going; she figured he was probably skipping the rest of the school day, something that she frowned upon. As the boy came closer, Emma noticed something familiar about him. He had brown curly hair and those stunning hazel eyes. Emma froze; the boy was Will. There were practically no cars out right now, so Emma turned around and began following Will. She switched lanes, so that her car was right next to Will. Emma rolled her window down but Will didn't seem to even notice that there was a car practically following him. "Will," Emma called. "Will, please stop." Will turned his head and glanced at her but kept moving. Emma sighed, he was practically in flight. "Will…please?"

Will hesitated, before taking a few slow steps and then coming to a full stop. Emma pulled over and parked her car on the curb. She got out and walked over to Will, who was now pacing back and forth, running his hands through his curly hair. He ripped off his backpack and threw it at a nearby tree. "Whoa, Will," Emma exclaimed. Will walked over to a mound of rocks and punted them; sending chunks of gravel spewing through the air. Emma rushed over to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hey, hey, Will, _calm down._"

Will curled his hands into fists and Emma moved her hands down to his. She slowly loosened his balled-up fists. "Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Emma asked. When Will didn't reply, she nodded to herself. "Are you trying to skip school, Will?" Will looked down at his beat-up Converse and sighed. He knew that if he would've just ignored Emma and kept running, he would've felt better eventually. But now, Emma probably thought he was a freak after that burst of rage. Emma moved a hand to his chest and could feel his heart beat; it was a quick and steady thump.

"I…then Terri…and the stupid book…I ran," Will mumbled quietly.

Emma put one hand on his left arm and her other on his right. She gave his arms a gentle squeeze. "Okay…take a deep breath," she instructed. Will breathed in heavily. "And exhale…" Emma continued. Will exhaled shakily. "Again." Will repeated the process slowly. "Okay," Emma murmured, she stepped away from him and Will waited for her to run off. Everyone ran from him in his life. Emma walked over to his backpack; slumped against the tree and scooped it up. She walked back over to him and held open the straps. "Put your arms in," she instructed. Will obediently slid his arms in and glanced up at her.

Will opened his mouth to speak and Emma wrapped her arms around him. He tensed under her hug before softening and allowing himself to be loved for once. Emma ran her hands through the curls at the nape of his neck and rubbed his back. "It's okay, Will," Emma said into his chest. "It's all going to be okay, trust me." As Emma toyed with his curls, she realized how many problems with trust Will has had in his life. He obviously didn't trust people easily after all that had happened to him. She hoped that he trusted her. Will slowly stepped back and Emma noticed how red his face was; she wasn't sure if it was from running, frustration, or a sign that tears were coming.

"C-can I ask you something?" Will stuttered, raising a hand to rub one eye.

"Anything."

"Are you going to run away from me?" Will asked, honestly. "Because everyone runs away from me and everything leaves me eventually. And I really like you and I keep telling myself not to get attached but I keep getting closer and closer to you. So, if you're going to leave me eventually, please let me know now so I'm not sad later. I know I'm not so great and I have a lot of problems…but please don't go. When I'm with you…I don't feel like I have to run away from everything. I feel like I want to run away with you. That's all I'm asking. Be honest, please."

"Will…I'm never going to leave you, okay? Ever," Emma assured him.

"Are you telling the truth?" Will questioned, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Of course," Emma said. "I know you have trust issues but I want you to know that you can always, always, trust me with anything. Always."

"So…you're not gonna run from me?" Will mumbled.

"The only time you'll ever see me running is if I'm chasing you," Emma replied. Will smiled, remembering what Cathy said the first night he ran to the diner.

"Thank you," Will whispered.

Emma leaned over and gave him another loving hug. As they pulled away, she stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips to his temple. Will smiled down at her and she patted his cheek. "Come on, we should get back to school. Unless…you're actually turning into a bad boy and would rather ditch."

Will shrugged. "I think I'm more of a nice guy."

"That's what I thought," Emma smiled. "Now get in the car."

* * *

"Okay…next word," Emma said, scanning over Will's spelling list.

"You know," Will started. "I really don't like spelling, it's hard."

"I know, Will," Emma agreed. "But you have the test on Wednesday and if you don't pass then…we're going to the dyslexia test."

Will grimaced. "Can't the test be if I don't pass next week's spelling test? Because I don't really have a good feeling about this one."

"No, come on, Will, we made a deal," Emma prodded. "This is the last word…technological."

"Is that even a word?" Will groaned.

"Yes, it is," Emma sighed. Will had grown increasingly frustrated in the past thirty minutes with his spelling words. She knew the pressure was getting to him and felt bad. "Just spell it like it sounds, if you really don't know it."

"Tech-no-log-ical," Will sounded out. He picked up his pencil and scribbled down some letters, tapping his fingers on this thigh. Will handed the piece back to Emma and waited.

Emma looked down at his slanted handwriting, it read; _tecknolojkol. _She bit her lip as he looked at her, hopefully. "You were a bit off," she admitted, handing him the spelling list so he could see the actual spelling.

"More like way off," Will grumbled.

"Hey, you'll do fine on the spelling test. I just know it," Emma assured him. Will nodded, though he didn't really believe her. "Are you ready to go to my house for dinner? Or is there more stuff you need to work on?"

"Nope, I'm ready," Will said, shoving his schoolwork back into his backpack. "Just give me a minute to go get dressed."

"Will," Emma started. "You don't need to change, it's just dinner."

"With your family, so I want to look half-decent," Will explained. He turned around and began digging through his clothing drawers.

"I'll wait in the hallway," Emma offered, standing up. She left the room and closed the door behind her to give Will some privacy.

A few minutes later, Will opened the door and smiled. "Okay," he started. "Now I'm ready."

Emma laughed. He was wearing the button down shirt that he had bought for her when they were at the mall, on Saturday. The shirt was untucked over a pair of tan cargo khakis and he looked perfect. Emma couldn't help but notice how the shirt hugged his biceps or the tender way he looked at her; she kept having to remind herself that they were just friends. "You look handsome," Emma complimented.

"Thanks," Will smiled. Emma walked over to him and straightened out the collar a bit and dusted off his shoulders.

"Absolutely handsome," Emma murmured.

"And you look absolutely beautiful," Will admitted. "Ready to go?"

"Yup," Emma agreed. As they walked out the door, she smiled, feeling Will's hand slide into hers. She shook her head, hoping that this would only get better over dinner.

* * *

**So what did you guys think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? Please leave a review. I'm so so so sorry that it took me a week and five days to update…I'm such a poophead, haha. Thanks to all the awesome people who followed me on tumblr; pretty sure I followed you all back, if I didn't, leave me a note and I'll make sure I do. Okay, from now on, update days are ****Sundays.**** I'm obviously not going to update this coming one, but from now on, I'm really gonna try to every Sunday. At least until basketball's over, then it might go back to my usual of like every three-five days. Well, it's a Friday night and I'm watching Taylor Swift music videos and drinking hot chocolate…have a good weekend everyone! R&R! ;)**

**Oh wait…would anyone be interested in me writing a few off-shots for 'Diva' and 'I Do'? Let me know in a review, thanks. ;)**


	9. Chapter 9- Never Been Kissed

Chapter 9- Never Been Kissed

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! Thanks for all the amazing reviews last chapter, I love all of you. I'll explain everything about the late update and my life at the bottom of the chapter, dudes. This chapter is from where we left off; Will and Emma are gonna have dinner with her family. Here's the chapter, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

Emma cut off the engine once they pulled into her driveway. "We're here," she announced. "Ready?"

"What if I mess it all up?" Will asked, with wide hazel eyes.

"What do you mean?" Emma wondered. The cicadas were chirping; their cries cutting through the cold air as Emma looked at Will expectantly.

"I'm not smart," Will started. "So, like what if I say something wrong and sound really stupid?"

Emma smiled confidently at him and placed a reassuring hand on his knee, giving it a squeeze. "You already met them and they love you, Will. You are smart and nothing's going to go wrong, okay? Just trust me."

Will nodded. "Okay…wait, are you sure?"

"A hundred percent," Emma grinned. "Now come on." She patted his knee and unlocked the car doors, reaching over to open hers.

"Wait," Will said, getting out of the car. He ran around to the driver's side where Emma was still seated. Will swung open her door for her and offered a hand. "Now."

Emma took his hand and got out of the car, smiling. "Such a gentleman," she murmured, as they walked up the pathway. Emma dropped his hand reluctantly, to ring the doorbell. "Everyone should be home."

Will nodded and they heard some people on the other side of the door. The door finally opened with Mrs. Pillsbury standing on the other side. Her blond hair was up in a loose bun and she was wearing skinny jeans and a pink North Face jacket. "Hi guys," she exclaimed. "It's nice to see you again, Will, come right in."

"Nice to see you too," Will greeted, as they stepped inside. He followed Emma's lead and slipped off his Converse by the front door. "Thanks for inviting me over for dinner."

"Oh, you're welcome over anytime," Rose replied. "Emma seems to really enjoy spending time with you."

Will smiled at Emma and Emma blushed. "I'm right here, Mom," she squeaked. Emma shot her mom a warning look before regaining her composure. "Is dinner ready yet?"

Rose shook her head. "Almost. Your dad's still working on the burgers out back. So, if you'd like you could show Will around. I know that last time he didn't see much of the house; just the basement."

Emma turned to Will. "Want to look around?"

"Sure," Will agreed. Emma tapped his shoulder and motioned to the left.

"Let's go upstairs," Emma suggested. Emma walked around the corner and bounded up the staircase, Will following close behind. Once they reached the second floor landing, Emma looked back at Will. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't care," Will shrugged. "Wherever you want."

"My room?" Emma offered.

"Sounds great," Will agreed, walking beside her down the hall. Emma opened the last door on the left and ushered Will in.

"Well, this is it," she announced. Will looked around; it was just like he expected. Everything was in place and the room was extremely neat. Her walls were a light green, the same as her bed covers. There was a white desk in the corner along with a clothing dresser.

"It's really clean," Will said.

Emma nodded. "Well…I don't like messes."

"Yeah, I know," Will replied. "Sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"No, I understand," Emma nodded.

"No," Will started. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Like it's great that it's clean…and I…um, sorry. It just came out and like I wasn't thinking."

Emma laughed. She placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. "Calm down, Will. I meant, it's fine. I get what you're trying to say."

"Oh," Will blushed. "Sorry."

"That's about the twentieth time you've said that in like two minutes," Emma teased, stepping away from him and flopping down on her bed.

"Sor-…I mean, okay." Will ran a hand through his hair, laughing.

"Loosen up, Will," Emma smiled. "I'm just messing with you."

"Right," Will nodded, slightly embarrassed. He walked over to her back window and peered into the vast backyard. "You have a nice backyard."

"Yeah, thanks," Emma replied, walking over to him. Rusty was at the grill, flipping over hamburger patties while James and Katie were playing a friendly game of one-on-one basketball.

"Hey, what's that?" Will asked, pointing out the window.

"You mean the gazebo?" Emma questioned, following his gaze.

"Yeah," Will replied. There was a brown wooden gazebo in the middle of their grass. It looked nice; with a cushioned bench in it.

"It's just a place where I can think, you know?" Emma explained.

Will nodded. "Yeah, I do." And he did. Late night runs to Waffle World were his thinking place, just like the gazebo was Emma's. "I like the lights on it," Will commented. There was a few hanging lights on the gazebo's roof.

"So do I," Emma agreed. "It makes it look more magical."

Will laughed. "Now you really sound like Cinderella."

"Stop it," Emma smiled, rolling her eyes. She walked back over to her bed and sat down, tapping the space beside her for Will. Will walked over and plopped down, next to Emma. "So," Emma started. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"If I forgot our two week anniversary? Because I didn't," Will quipped. He was wearing a blue zip-up jacket over his dress shirt. He reached into the inside compartment of the jacket, and pulled out a light pink rose and a necklace. "For you." Will handed them to her.

"Will, you didn't need to…" Emma drifted off. She held the silver necklace; there was a silver 'E' pendant on it. Emma brought the flower to her nose and inhaled the sweet smell, smiling. "Thank you, they're beautiful."

"You're welcome. I just thought that maybe I should get you something, you know…after everything you've done for me," Will explained. "Like if it's too much, I can take it back…"

"No, no," Emma assured him. "I love it, thank you so much." She smiled up at him, her golden-brown eyes lighting up.

"I'm glad you do," Will nodded.

"Do you think you could help me put it on?" Emma wondered.

"Of course." Will walked up behind Emma, took the necklace from her and opened the clasp. He slowly slid it around her neck before fixing the clasp on, in the back. "There you go."

Emma turned to face Will, smiling. "Thanks again." Before he could respond, she closed the gap between them and gave him a quick hug. After she pulled away, she gave him a small smile.

"So, what were you going to ask me before?" Will asked, sitting down.

"Oh," Emma sighed. "I was just going to ask if you had sorted things out with Terri yet. You know, because of what happened earlier."

"Oh," Will grimaced. "Well, I haven't talked to her since lunch today."

"I thought you had some afternoon classes with her," Emma said, sitting beside Will.

"Yeah, I do," Will started. "I just avoided her and our friends. She kept whispering to me but I just ignored her."

"Maybe…maybe you should talk to her," Emma suggested. Even though, she didn't really like Will with Terri; she hated seeing him so upset. "Tell her how you feel about whatever happened."

Will looked up, realizing that Emma still had no idea what happened at lunch that made him run. But he must've mumbled something about Terri when he was rambling; because she knew it had something to do with Terri. "I don't know how to say this but…Terri doesn't really care about…like feelings and stuff." Will saw Emma nodding out of the corner of his eye. "But she's a great girlfriend," Will blurted, feeling the need to say something nice about her.

"I know," Emma lied. She couldn't help but wonder for the millionth time why Will stayed with her. He could have any girl that he wanted but he chose to stay with Terri; which truly puzzled Emma. There were other kinder cheerleaders out there swooning over Will…and then of course, there was her. Emma. She wondered if she could even consider herself as an option for Will. Was she even good enough? Her jeans and hoodies told her she wasn't anything compared to the WMHS cheerleading uniforms. But still…Emma had to wonder about it. "I think most relationships experience problems sometimes."

"What about you?" Will asked. "Have you ever had relationship problems with a guy?" If it had been anybody else; Emma would've thought they were making fun of her because she'd never had a boyfriend –or anything close to one. But with the innocent look written across Will's face and the kindness held in his hazel eyes, she knew he wasn't.

"Well, um…actually I've never had a boyfriend," Emma confessed, blushing. She averted her eyes from Will's confused face to the floor. "No one's ever really asked me out…or even really talked to me," she added.

Will nodded, sympathetically. "That surprises me but at the same time, really doesn't."

"Well…you're nice today," Emma muttered bitterly. Will looked up at noticed her brown eyes glassed over with tears. He opened his mouth before closing it, confused. Did he say something wrong? Will sat next to her and held her hand, gently. Emma looked down at their hands and sniffed, a sole tear spilling down her cheek. "Why would you say that?" she whispered, exhaling shakily.

"You mean…" Will drifted off as Emma nodded. "That's not what I meant, Em. The words came out wrong."

Emma didn't want to believe him but there was something about the way he looked at her earnestly that told her that he was telling the truth. "I-I've never been kissed before, Will, and I'm sixteen. My thirteen-year-old brother had his first kiss before me."

Will wrapped his arm around her and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "What I meant to say was that it surprises me but doesn't at the same time. It surprises me because if it were up to me…you'd be kissed every minute of every day," Will said, softly.

Emma smiled, touched by his comment. "By who?"

"Whoever's worthy enough for you; your very own Prince Charming," Will replied.

"No boy at our high school, or probably any in Ohio, for that matter, would want to be my Prince Charming," Emma admitted, honestly.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Will mumbled quietly, surprising himself. "That's what I meant, though. I'm not surprised that boys our age don't want to be with you. Because, honestly, you're too beautiful for them. You have a big heart and you're easily the nicest person I know. Just because they can't see it, doesn't mean that others will one day. I can see it…see you and all of your…" Will wanted to say beauty but didn't want to scare Emma off. "Awesomeness," he finished. "You're totally awesome and I just want you to know that, Em."

"Thank you, Will," Emma murmured into his shirt. "Thanks for everything, you're pretty awesome too."

Will laughed. "Confession time," he announced. "Terri's my first kiss, well, like my only kiss. Ever."

Emma raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed that. I mean, with Terri always all over you and everything."

"Our relationship's not that serious," Will blushed.

"I thought you've been dating for over a year," Emma said.

"We have," Will started. "And I meant, it is serious but not that kind of serious."

"Oh," Emma nodded. This new piece of information making her like him just a little more.

"Yeah," Will mumbled.

"I think that's good," Emma assured him. "You really respect her."

"I do; but I also think that high school relationships shouldn't be like…that," Will confessed, his face reddening.

"I agree," Emma smiled. "Especially when there are some sixteen-year-olds who haven't even been kissed yet."

"I think that just makes you even more beautiful," Will replied. "You are…so beautiful."

Emma's cheeks tinted pink as they always did when Will complimented her. "It's embarrassing, though."

Will's eyes lit up and Emma recognized the look. It was the same flicker of emotion that passed over his face when he understood something in his schoolwork. "I-I could like, um, you know, kiss you." Emma's eyes widened. "I mean, as a friend! Just so you could know what it felt like and then you would have been kissed. If you wanted to just experience it." Emma laughed and Will ducked his head. "Sorry, that was a stupid idea," he mumbled.

"No, no, it wasn't," Emma said, smiling at him. She cleared her throat. "You don't have to kiss me, if you don't want to, though. I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Will."

"It wouldn't be uncomfortable at all." Will smiled. "Plus, it'd be easier for you; because you're comfortable with me. Well, at least, I think you are."

"I am comfortable with you," Emma assured him. "Would things be weird though? Like after the kiss."

Will didn't even think twice. "Nope, nope, not at all. We'd still be best friends. It would just be like doing you a favor, with no feelings. Except for friendship feelings, of course."

"This sounds a lot like a rom-com I once saw," Emma laughed.

Will's face flushed. "That's not what I…"

"I know," she giggled. "So, um, what about Terri? She would kill me and you."

"She wouldn't have to know," Will suggested. "And it's a friendship kiss, anyways."

"Well, in that case," Emma started. "Okay, then."

"Okay?" Will repeated.

"Okay," Emma nodded.

"Should I brush my teeth?" Will asked. "So it would be clean, you know."

Emma laughed. "You're sweet but no, it's fine."

"But, I think I still have cookies on me from earlier and I want this to be perfect," Will protested.

"You want this to be perfect?" Emma questioned.

Will bit his lip. "For you," he lied. He never pictured himself kissing Emma before, but now, he couldn't picture anything but him closing the gap between them. "You deserve a Prince Charming kiss, even if it is coming from a frog."

Emma laughed. "Alright, ready?"

Will's eyes flitted towards the bathroom door and he hooked his thumb towards it. "You sure about the teeth cleaning? Because I can…" Emma placed a finger to his lips and he glanced down at it, hazel eyes widening.

"It's fine, Will," Emma informed him once more, removing her finger from his face.

"O-okay," Will stuttered. "Um." He leaned forward and placed a hand on her cheek, brushing it lightly. Emma could've sworn that his hand had grown a hundred percent clammier than it was a few minutes ago, despite this, it still felt right. He pushed a strand of her red hair behind her ear and inched his face a bit closer. Emma tilted her head up a little and looked into Will's deep hazel eyes. For once, the look in his eyes was unreadable to Emma. They looked warm and loving and a bit…nervous? Emma couldn't tell but she loved the way he looked at her, she always had. Especially that look that came across his face every so often; when he was complimenting her, being honest, or…about to kiss her. Will closed his eyes, his lips just centimeters from Emma's. She could feel his warm breath on her lips and thought she could smell cookies. Will moved a little closer, his nose brushing against hers.

"Wait," Emma whispered, pulling away.

Will opened his eyes, returning back to Earth after the near-kiss. He leaned back on his hands, ashamed. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Emma breathed. "I just…I don't think we should, because of Terri. It wouldn't be right."

Will nodded, afraid that Emma could hear the way his heart was hammering against his chest. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry."

"Don't be," Emma said, giving a small smile. Looking over at Will, Emma mentally cursed herself for stopping him. Although, she knew that in the end, it was the right thing to do. Not that Will would be technically cheating on Terri, though, because he wouldn't do that. At least, she got to feel the anticipation of a kiss. A kiss with her Prince Charming.

The door flew open with James on the other side. Will removed his hand from Emma's and they both stared at the interruption. If James noticed their discomfort, it didn't show. "Food's ready!" James announced.

"Okay," Will replied, standing up. He would've helped Emma up had James not been eyeing their every move.

"Thanks," Emma added, following James out of the room.

As the three of them bounded down the steps, James paused, turning to Emma. "Your face is really red, dude," James exclaimed.

She could see Will bite his lip out of the corner of her eye and was sure that she was blushing, a lot. "Shut up," Emma muttered, flicking him in the back of the head.

"I'm telling Mom," James grumbled.

"Telling Mom what?!" Emma repeated, nervous. How long was James on the other side of the door? Emma hoped that it wasn't for too long.

James sighed. "I don't know."

"Exactly," Emma grinned. "There's nothing wrong that I did."

"You're just lucky that I didn't catch you two making out or something," James snickered. When he saw their paled faces, he stopped. "Wait. Were you?"

"No!" Emma cried.

"I have a girlfriend," Will muttered.

"Just checking," James smirked.

* * *

"So, how's the football season going?" Rusty asked Will. They had been eating dinner for about a half hour now, and everyone was getting along really well. As Emma already imagined, her parents adored Will.

"It's going pretty good," Will replied, politely.

"They haven't lost a game yet," Emma added.

"That's because of Will," James commented. "You're like a beast."

Will laughed. "Hardly. We just have lots of good athletes, that's all."

"That and you've got a heck of an arm," Rusty said. "You can also run the ball, which most quarterbacks can't do."

"I just go with my instincts," Will shrugged, modestly.

"Well, your instincts are pretty killer," Katie laughed.

Will smiled at Emma; he felt at home with the Pillsburys. It was almost as if he'd been there a million times before, Will always felt this way with Emma, though, he had no idea why. Maybe it was just because she was the first person he allowed himself to fully open up to. Either way, he liked it. "What do your parents do?" Rose asked. "We'd love to have you all over for a barbecue sometime."

Will hesitated, watching Emma's reaction from the corner of his eye. He had lied about this particular subject so many times, that it almost felt like the truth. The words that usually rolled off of his tongue were now jammed in the back of his throat. "They…um…"

"Are out on business!" Emma blurted. Will gave her a look but luckily, Emma's family didn't catch it. Will wondered why he couldn't just simply tell the lie he told everyone; perhaps, it was because this was Emma's family. And Emma wasn't just everyone. Emma was someone.

"Yeah," Will added. "They go on business trips a lot, pretty much all the time, so I live with my grandma. Well, I mean, they live in the house too. They're just never there."

Rose gave the boy a sympathetic smile. "That must be tough on you."

"You get used to it," Will shrugged. At his words, Emma could hear her heart breaking for him all over again. She took his hand under the table and smiled at him, rubbing circles with her thumb, soothingly.

"You're always welcome over here," Rusty offered, Rose nodding along.

"What are their jobs?" Katie wondered, kindly.

Will glanced at Emma, racking his brain for high travel jobs. What kind of job never allowed you to be home? Besides a military soldier, of course. The position of runaway mom was also unavailable. Emma could see him struggling and squeezed his hand, mouthing the word _doctors._ "They're doctors," Will stuttered. "Good ones."

"In movies, doctors always move around tons," James mentioned, sipping his lemonade.

Will mouthed a silent _thank you _to Emma. "Yeah, they're like that," Will lied. "How about you, Mr. Pillsbury, what do you do?"

"I work at Flagstar Bank," Rusty replied. "It's a lot of math."

Will nodded. "That's not exactly my strong suit."

"But you're getting a lot better," Emma praised.

"Is Emma treating you well as a tutor?" Rose asked.

Will grinned. "She's amazingly smart. My grades are improving already."

"That's good to hear," Rose replied. "She's not too bossy, is she?"

"Mom…" Emma groaned.

Will laughed. "No, Em's not bossy at all." Rose shot Emma a look when Will used his nickname for her.

"Are you confusing her for someone else?" James exclaimed. "Emma is super bossy. She always has to get her way. Like this one time…"

"James!" Emma cut off. "He doesn't want to hear what you have to say, okay?"

"Your brother's just trying to start a conversation, honey, don't be so harsh," Rose said.

"So," Will started. "What happened that one time?"

"Will," Emma squeaked, kicking him under the table.

James ignored her and Will smirked. "When Emma was fourteen…" James began.

* * *

After dinner, the adults had gone inside to do the dishes, telling the kids to just hang out some more. James had immediately jumped over their fence to his neighbor's house, to hang out with them. As for Katie, she headed back inside to do homework. "Want to go in the gazebo?" Emma offered.

"Sure," Will smiled. Emma led him to the gazebo and sat down on the wooden bench inside, Will claiming the spot beside her. "It's really nice outside now."

"It is," Emma agreed. "So…about earlier…"

"I'm really sorry about what I said," Will started. "It came out wrong, and it was pretty uncool of me."

Emma raised an eyebrow, confused. "What?"

"Oh." Will paused. "I thought you were talking about when you started, um, you know." Will pointed to his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Crying. When you were crying earlier because of that," Will explained.

"Why didn't you just say that in English?" Emma giggled.

"I thought you might be upset if I brought that up again," Will replied, ducking his head.

Emma smiled, he was so considerate of her feelings. "No, it's fine, Will."

"I'm also sorry about suggesting that…kiss," Will mumbled. "Because it would be totally weird for two best friends to kiss."

Emma laughed. "Once again, it's fine. Actually, it was kinda sweet."

"Really?" Will beamed.

"Yeah," Emma smiled. "Really."

It was starting to get dark outside; the gazebo lights illuminating their safe haven. A mosquito buzzed around Will's ear and he grimaced. "Bug?" Emma wondered.

"Yup." Will swatted it away. "They always get you if you're not moving around."

Emma nodded. "I don't get bitten a lot."

"I do," Will sighed. "So, in that case." Will stood up and offered a hand to Emma. "Dance with me, Emma Pillsbury?"

Emma blushed. "There's no music."

"We don't need any," Will smiled, taking her hand. Emma stood up and Will placed his hands on her waist; Emma wrapping her arms around his neck. They swayed back and forth in the moonlight, their eyes not once breaking contact. Will had never felt so close to a person in his life, in fact, never even really let a person so close in his life. "Emma?" Will whispered into her ear.

"Yeah?" Emma breathed. Will's hazel eyes darted to her lips for just a second, but Emma still caught it. She was sure that he didn't want her to notice that.

"I really hope that you get your Prince Charming kiss someday," Will said.

"Me too, Will," Emma agreed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Me too."

* * *

It was Tuesday's lunch period and so far, Will had been able to avoid Terri almost all morning. She had approached him during homeroom as well as her other classes with him but he ignored her. Will talked to Emma all throughout homeroom, only angering Terri further. But now, it was lunch, and it was going to be practically impossible to avoid Terri. Will walked into the lunchroom and Terri immediately appeared at his side. "I tried calling you like twenty times last night," Terri informed him. "And this morning. Were you ignoring me in class?" Will didn't respond, instead finding his usual table. "Babe. Look at me."

Will looked up from his paper bagged lunch. "What Terri? What do you want me to say?"

"Are you mad?" Terri asked. "Is it because I called you retarded?"

Will sighed. Unlike Terri, Emma always could read his emotions. It was something he loved about her. Not that he was in love with her, of course. "Yeah, it is, okay?"

"I'm so sorry, honey. I really didn't mean it," Terri pleaded. "It just came out."

"But you still said it," Will grumbled.

Terri took his face in her hands, tilting his chin up, so that he could see her. "Sweetie, I love you. So much. I was just a little jealous of your…friendship with Emma, so I overreacted. I love you, Will, please don't let this be a big thing."

Will smiled a bit. Maybe it was just the fact that she actually used Emma's name instead of insult, or the fact that she made him feel so loved at the moment, or even the fact that her voice turned soft and gentle; but Will forgave her. "I'm sorry, Terri. Maybe I overreacted a bit too."

Terri spotted Emma watching them behind Will's shoulder, and she grinned devilishly. "I love you," she murmured, leaning over to kiss him. Running one hand through Will's curls, she waved to Emma with the other, still kissing Will.

Will pulled away first, having no idea that Emma was even in the lunchroom, in the first place. "I love you too," Will said.

"That's better," Terri cooed, winking at Emma.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? Please leave a review letting me know what you thought. I would like to say thank you to all the wonderful anons on Tumblr who sent me messages and compliments about this story, you guys honestly made my day. And of course, thanks to all who reviewed last chapter! **

**Okay. So here's what happened with me. I wasn't able to update the day I was going to (because my friends and I saw Safe Haven…it's awesome btw) and then I got grounded for a week. And then I got ungrounded for like two days. And then parent teacher conferences happened. So I got grounded again. Basically guys, my grades suck. Like majorly. Probably down there with Will's right now. My parents are blaming FF cause they think it takes up all my time. So not true…ok, well, maybe it does but still. Unfair. Anyways, I got my laptop back yesterday…with conditions. I'm only allowed to use it during the weekends now, until my grades go up. So maybe they'll go up this week and I'll be able to, I don't know yet. But I am so incredibly sorry. Really, I feel so horrible. Especially since people were messaging me on here and tumblr about updates. On the good side, basketball is now over. On the bad side, track starts in April and I keep flirting with trouble. So yeah, not the greatest time for me now. :'( I'm really really sorry. I'll try and update next Sunday, but don't count on it. I might get grounded again. **

**If anybody (and I seriously mean anyone) has read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and remembers some of it, please PM me or talk to me on tumblr. We're reading that in honors English right now and well, um, I haven't really read it. So help would be appreciated. (Yeah, I'm really **_**that **_**stupid to ask you guys for help on schoolwork). **

**R&R! They would be really appreciated! Sorry for the longest A/N in the world guys. **


	10. Chapter 10- I'm Here

Chapter 10- I'm Here

**Author's Note- Hey everybody! I know that my updates are really spotty right now, but I think I should be getting back on track now. My grades are kind of going up but the new quarter is starting soon, so the grades start over (thank God). I hope people are still reading this even though I'm not updating as soon, though I can tell I'm losing some of you; there was a drop in reviews last chapter. So, hang in there, guys! I promise I'm doing my best. This chapter is kind of continuing from Tuesday and then onward. Here it is, enjoy! ;)**

* * *

It was Tuesday's sixth period and Will was seated in the back of the room. It was science class, and Will had never really been one for science; or any subject really. As the video on electricity droned on, he pulled out him and Emma's journal. Last night when she dropped him back off at his house, Emma had given him the journal. Will hadn't had a chance to read her entry though, because he'd been studying for the spelling test. Will thumbed through the pages until he found the current one. The teen squinted down at the words and began reading.

_Dear Will, _

_I'm in fifth hour right now and I just saw you –or stopped you, from running. I don't know exactly why you were running (though I did gather something about Terri and a book), but I'm really sorry that something made you that upset or frustrated. I think that running is your defense mechanism, just like mine is cleaning. When you get mad, or frustrated, or sad, or most of all; hurt, you just want to run. I imagine you have the thought that if you pump your legs fast enough, you'll leave all your problems in the dust. And I wish you could, Will, I really do; but you can't. As much as you want to run away from the world, someone will always be right there chasing you. Okay. I know what you're thinking. There won't always be someone chasing you. But I will be that someone for you. I care about you a lot, okay? More than anyone else outside my family. I want you to know that you matter, Will. Just because a few people didn't chase you, doesn't mean that no one else will. I wish that you didn't have to feel like this. Like you always have to run. But when you do; I'm here. Next time you feel that you have to run away from everything, run to me. I'm here for you anytime of the day or night. I'm not trying to force you to, but I'm offering it. I get that sometimes you want to be alone but when you don't, even if you just want to sit in silence, I'm here. I know I probably don't have the right words to say or anything. But I will listen to you, especially when you're silent because that's when you're the loudest and I will always comfort you. I'll hug you and let you rest your head on my shoulder. I'll embrace you for as long as you like, to make up for all the people who didn't. But mostly, I'll try to make you feel loved. _

_-Emma_

Will looked up from the journal and around the classroom everyone was still in their own worlds. He grinned goofily to himself; it was funny how he had just read a touching note from Emma yet everyone else was still staring blankly at the screen. It made him feel like they shared a secret, one that no one else knew about. No one else could feel their warm smiles reserved for each other or the tender looks they shared. Most of all, no one could see or feel the invisible thread that connected Will's heart to Emma's.

With this in mind, Will picked up his pen and began writing to Emma.

* * *

Emma carefully placed her math textbook in her backpack, at the end of the day. As she tidied up her locker, she couldn't help but wish that Will had tutoring today. It seemed as if waiting until tomorrow to spend a few hours with him was way too long a wait. Emma nearly jumped when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Speak of the devil. It was Will. "Hey Em," Will greeted, rocking back and forth on his heels. It was a fidgety habit that she'd grown to adore.

"Hi Will," Emma replied. She was still a bit sad that he and Terri had made up. Not that he had told her yet, but she'd seen enough in the lunchroom to know that they were still together.

Will caught on to the slightly different look in her golden brown eyes immediately. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Emma closed her locker and looked into Will's concerned hazel eyes and smiled. Not a forced smile, but a real one; the one that always came with Will's presence. "I'm fine," Emma assured him. "How was your day?"

"It was good; I didn't see you much this afternoon though." Will smiled and a flicker of happiness flew through his eyes. "I talked to Terri and we made up."

"More like made out," Emma muttered to herself. Only when she looked up at Will's confused face did she realize that she had said that out loud.

Will raised an eyebrow. "What did you just say?"

Emma hesitated; Will didn't look mad. If anything, he was just plain confused. Or maybe he didn't hear her. She hoped he didn't hear her. "I…um…I'm happy for you," Emma stammered. "That's what I said."

Will looked taken aback. "You know I trust you, right?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded, uncertainly.

"Then why'd you lie?" Will asked. Emma's face flushed and she fidgeted with her backpack. "I'm not mad at you," Will assured her. "I just…um, do you not like Terri?"

Emma sighed. "I do like Terri, Will," Emma lied. "I just…I don't want to see you get hurt. That's all."

Will bit his lip, mulling over her response. "That's all?" He really wanted to believe her because she never lied to him and they were best friends, after all. But there was something in her eyes that made him doubt her.

Emma placed her hand on Will's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "That's all," Emma replied, guiltily.

"If you have a problem with Terri, just let me know. I'll fix it," Will offered, kindly.

Emma sighed. Here was the boy who wanted to fix everything for everyone. Yet, he didn't realize that he himself was the only thing that was really broken. "There's no problem, I promise. Do you have the journal?" Emma asked.

"Yeah," Will said, pulling it out of his back pocket and giving it to her. "Your entry…" Will paused. "It was really nice."

Emma blushed. "Thanks."

"Well…" Will took a step back. "I've got to go to football."

"Don't forget to study for the spelling test!" Emma called after him.

Will spun around on his heels. "I won't," he replied, loud enough so other people could hear them. When Will noticed that other people were listening and Emma was blushing, he smirked. "Goodbye Cinderella!" Will yelled. Emma's face flushed to a bright red and half the hallway was watching them. She shook her head at him and Will winked before spinning around and heading towards the locker room.

That night, after Emma finished her biology homework, she opened the journal to read Will's entry. She flipped through the pages, stopping when she saw his spidery handwriting. Emma began reading his entry, making sure to read it silently so Katie wouldn't catch her again.

_Hey Em. _

_Thank you so much. I feel like I don't say this enough to you. Your words meant so much to me. No one has ever really said anything like that to me before. Anything that kind or meaningful has never been directed my way. So thanks. For everything you have ever said to me or done for me. I hope that one day, I can return the favor. So just like you said to me; I'm here for you. I'm here if you get hurt, have a panic attack, or get slushied. Or really anything. I just…I don't know how to explain it, Em. You make me happy. When I'm around you, I can't help but smile. I don't know why. When you walk into a room, it lights up. Like sunshine. You're my sunshine, Em. My life was kind of like a storm before you arrived. It was dark and everything was always getting flipped around. There were lots of rainy days and days when the thunder shook me so violently that I'd crumple to the floor like a small child. Every once in a while, a tree would come and provide me with some shelter. But then, it would leave. I don't know why they did. Maybe they just took a real good look at me and saw nothing. They saw no potential or no future. But they did see flaws. Lots of them. So they left me. Left me with no shelter or warmth. All of them left me alone in the cold rain. _

_Then you came in. _

_Bright and beautiful. My sunshine. All the rain went away and the thunder stopped scaring me. You provided me with warmth and comfort and a reason to smile. You protected me and comforted me. You lit up my life, Em. _

_And I want to be here for you too. I'll be your sunshine, your tree, heck I'll even be your bird; whatever you need. I'm here. And maybe, I don't seem like much but I'm yours. _

_I'm flawed. You and I both know this. There are so many things wrong with me. Whether it be the deep scar on my left shoulder blade or my irrational fear of people leaving me or my bad spelling and crooked smile. I know I'm damaged and never anyone's first choice but I'm yours. I have a messed-up home life but I'll put you ahead of all of that. I hope that I can be something for you, Em. I really do. I want to be what you are to me, for you. I know I'm far from perfect and most definitely flawed but I'm yours. I don't know if I'm even making much sense right now but just know that I'm here and I'm yours, Em. _

_-Will_

Emma smiled and swallowed hard; fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill over. It wasn't often that anyone –let alone the high school quarterback –said things as kind as what Will did. But that was Will.

He wasn't just the high school quarterback nor was he just another cute-looking guy. He was Will. And that was all Emma needed. She didn't need him to be the next Einstein or Tom Brady; Emma just needed him to be himself. Because just Will being Will was more than enough. Will was everything Emma ever needed; not that he'd ever think so. She needed him; flaws and all.

Because they were both broken. And maybe, somehow, all their broken pieces and fragments and bits and portions didn't need to be fixed. They just needed to fall in place together, like a puzzle, creating something beautiful. Because, after all, if you couldn't fix it, you could create something better.

A whole.

A whole heart beating for two people. All of their thoughts, hopes, dreams, and flaws stitched together with entirely good intentions. And that was love.

Emma shook her head; deciding that she wasn't in love with Will Schuester, she just loved him. Sure, maybe she had a bit of a crush on her best friend, but she wasn't in love with him. Yet, she loved him. It was the kind of love that bonded two people together forever. Where if she were ever to lose him; it would be like losing your right hand. Irreplaceable.

Will was irreplaceable.

And he didn't even know it.

* * *

It was Wednesday, after lunch, and Emma was waiting at Will's locker. His next hour was English and it was finally time for the spelling test. He told her in homeroom that he had studied a lot the night before and felt ready. Yet, Emma couldn't help but think that he might fail. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in Will. It was just that, well, she was always prepared for the worst. Emma had seen how stressed out Will could get during tutoring sessions when he didn't get something or when he thought about it too hard. Without Emma there to help him or calm his nerves, he would have to be patient and remember what he studied. Suddenly, Will approached Emma, waving. "Hey," he greeted, casually.

Already, Emma could tell he was nervous. He really didn't want to go and get tested for dyslexia but there was a small part of Emma that wanted him to. If he did have a disability, it was better to have it diagnosed. She knew that if she never got diagnosed with OCD, she wouldn't have made as much progress with it as she had today. Will needed to at least be tested, or else, it would be the not-knowing that would kill him. "Hi Will," Emma replied. "You know, I can't tutor you today…dentist appointment."

"Yeah, you told me yesterday. So," Will started, as he played with the lock on his locker. "I have that big test now."

"Yeah," Emma grimaced. "That would be it."

"Does this test have to be the one that counts, though?" Will asked. "Because can it just be next week's? We have one every week…why this one?"

Emma could see he was getting worked up as he was twisting the dial rapidly. She took his hands in hers and Will looked down at her. "Look, Will, you have to do this. It's the only way that you're going to get better. I had to do it with my OCD, right? You can do this, I know it," she assured him.

"But…what if I fail?" Will wondered, biting his lip. "And I have to go the dyslexic test? And I pass that? Like in the bad way. So then I'm dyslexic…"

"Shh…shh," Emma murmured. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, all you need to do is go in there and take that test. Can you do that for me, Will?"

"I guess," Will mumbled.

Emma glanced around, not seeing any popular kids or Will's friends, she stepped closer to him. Emma quickly pecked him on the cheek, his skin flaming where her lips were. "You're going to do great, Soldier," Emma whispered in his ear. With that, Emma turned away and walked to her fifth hour. Will gave himself a half-smile; raising his fingers to his burning cheek. His ears still tickled from where her breath previously was. Will nodded to himself, as if to assure himself that Emma wouldn't hate him if he failed. With a deep breath, Will began walking to his fifth hour, about to take the first test that would change his life.

* * *

On Thursday, after Emma's fifth hour, she walked to her locker. She had talked to Will for over an hour on the phone yesterday after she got back from the dentist. He told her that he thought he did pretty well on the test but she could tell that he was near terrified to find out how he did. Emma distracted him for most of the conversation, though, getting him to talk about football and the most random things. As she neared her locker, Emma noticed something crumpled up and stuck in the slits towards the top of it. She walked a little bit quicker, curious to see what it was. Emma could tell that it was someone's test or homework from a few feet away. Only when she came to a halt in front of her locker, Emma scanned the contents of the paper. Half of it seemed to be crumpled, as if someone's fist had messed around with it. As her brown eyes darted over the paper, they widened.

_Unit 3 Spelling Test_

_Will Schuester_

_5/20_

A big red F was scrawled in the top corner of the test. Emma's hand flew to her mouth, Will had to be crushed. It was final. He was going to have to get tested for dyslexia. At least, he'd have Emma by his side.

* * *

**So what did you think? Good or bad? Boring or interesting? Please leave a review. I'm really sorry for the late update. I'm also sorry that this is short than the other chapters. This one's kind of just a filler cause the next chapter is going to be huge. So, do you guys think Will is gonna be dyslexic? I'm pretty sure that I'm losing readers (or at least reviewers) because of late updates but please guys, review. **

**One more thing. This is for my tumblr people. Okay. I got a lot of anon hate this past week. I don't mind that you guys are attacking me but not my stories (which is kinda strange that you're bullying me cause you want updates) but come on. To a level. Also, that anon who said I'm probably dyslexic or ADD; that's personal and you shouldn't look down on people who have that. Especially with this story. Guys, I hate to say this but it kinda hurts my feelings a bit. I write to escape and I don't really want much hate. Okay? Thanks to all the awesome and amazing anons who leave really awesome messages for me though. Cause there are so many more of you guys, than haters. **

**So it's 11:45 pm and my sister and I are watching Pilot (the Cinderella part just passed!) and I think my cold is half gone so have a good night everyone! Or really day…cause I think you'll read this tomorrow. I hope you liked it. R&R! ;) **


	11. Chapter 11-Falling Asleep

Chapter 11- Falling Asleep

**Author's Note- I hope y'all like this chapter; I worked really hard on it. ;) I'll explain the lateness at the bottom A/N.**

* * *

It was nearing six o' clock on Thursday night and Emma was debating whether or not to call Will. She hadn't talked to him all afternoon though he did leave his test on Emma's locker, for her to see. From the crumpled corners, Emma guessed that Will wasn't too happy. She had tried to catch him before he went off to football practice but he'd already left. Giving in to her gut instinct, Emma picked up her phone, scrolling down to Will's name. Hopefully, he hadn't left for work yet.

After a few rings, Will picked up. "Hello?" he greeted. For the current situation, he didn't seem too sad.

"Hi Will," Emma replied, softly. She could see the boy in her mind now. Hair a bit mussed up; half of his brown curls still plastered down from the football helmet and the chestnut curls at the nape of his neck curling upwards as they always did when he took off a cap or helmet. Gray Ohio State tee hugging his biceps, a leather belt poking out from underneath it; holding up khaki cargo pants. Worn-out black Converse and bright hazel eyes.

"Hi Emma," Will paused, flopping down on his bed and kicking off his Converse into the mess of sheets. "Did you see my test? I left it on your locker."

"I did…so how do you feel?" Emma asked.

"Well, my right arm's a bit sore from practice, but I'll live," Will informed her.

Emma fought the urge to laugh. "I meant about your grade, Will."

"Oh," Will sighed. "That."

Emma grimaced, sympathetically. "Yeah. That," she repeated.

There was a pause on Will's end; slow breaths coming through the line as he thought about what he was going to say. "Well," Will started. "I have to take that test now."

"The dyslexia one," Emma added.

"Yeah," Will breathed. "That would be the one."

Emma noticed that there was obviously something wrong with his demeanor, despite the fact that they weren't even talking in person. She was developing a personal radar for the boy. Will's walls were up and that wasn't helping her with the situation. She was hoping to at least get some of his feelings out into the open. "Will…are you scared?" Emma asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I…" Will stared blankly at his ceiling. Nobody had ever asked him that before. Everyone had always assumed that he'd be fine, that if he'd been broken for this long, he was beyond repair. Or that the fragile strings tying him together with a fake smile were good enough to keep hauling him along. No one has ever really cared. Until Emma. "I know everyone thinks I'm this big tough person who doesn't need anyone's help…but I'm not. Quite frankly, I'm really kind of tired of trying to be him."

"So don't be," Emma said.

"But I don't know who I am," Will admitted. "I know who all of these people think I am and who I used to think I was but I'm not that person. I'm messed up; so messed up inside and no one knows. But what if they did? If I stopped pretending, then what? They'd probably laugh at me or pity me and I don't know what's worse. I've spent so long being that person, that I don't even know who I am anymore."

"Yes, you do. You're you, Will, uniquely you, and nobody should want or need anything more from you. You don't need to pretend to be someone you're not to these people, when to somebody you already are is so beautiful," Emma explained. "Now do you know what you are?"

"Yeah," Will sighed. "I'm scared."

"I know," Emma muttered. "I know you are. But this isn't a pass or fail test. It's just a test to see if you have a learning disability so whatever the results are, I'm fine with them."

"Are you still going to take me there?" Will asked, hopefully.

"Of course," Emma exclaimed.

"Okay," Will smiled. "Thanks Em."

"I didn't do anything," she replied. "Now, don't you have some pizzas to deliver?"

"Oh, yeah," Will recalled. "Guess I should go."

"Yeah," Emma murmured. She noticed that all their phone conversations were like this; neither person wanting to hang up first. She secretly loved it. "Hey Will?"

"I'm here," Will said, softly.

"Everyone gets scared once in a while," Emma told him. "Even the strongest soldiers."

"Thanks Emma." Will bent over and began tying his Converse back up for work. Cole was bound to show up any minute, ready to pick him up. "You always know what to say."

Emma grinned, feeling her face heat up. "Well, you should really go now. I'd hate to keep you from your job."

"Yeah." Will paused. "Bye Em."

"Bye Will," Emma replied, hanging up. She knew that if she didn't hang up then, they could've kept talking for hours. But she also knew that the conversation would keep circling back to the elephant in the room; Will's test. Emma knew that the last thing she wanted to do right now was make Will any more nervous. And God knows that that's what talking about it too much would lead to. Emma sighed, realizing how much this test was going to impact not only Will, but her as well.

* * *

Friday's school day passed by quickly for both teens. It was exceedingly hard for Will to focus on any of his classes. Well, a bit harder than usual. Even Emma, the straight A's student, found herself zoning out constantly. There was just so much riding on this test; for both her and Will.

Now, Emma looked at the kitchen clock. 8:22 pm. James and her dad should be coming through the door any minute now. As usual, the two Pillsbury boys had gone to the Titans football game. Emma had actually debated going to today's game before Will told her not to. He reminded her that the deal was if he sang to her, then she'd have to go. Emma had sighed at him, but Will promised a song really soon. Emma wondered how he played in tonight's game. Probably amazing. Like usual.

The back door's knob turned and Emma smiled, figuring she'd know soon enough. Rusty entered first with James following and trailing James was…Will. Emma's eyes widened. Shouldn't he be at one of Terri's extravagant after parties? "Hey sweetie," Rusty greeted, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"H-hi," Emma stuttered, suddenly all too aware of the fact that she was in her pajamas. In front of Will Schuester. Not that he minded, naturally.

Rusty tossed his keys in the key bowl, Will and James still lingering by the door. "Your buddy, Will, came up and talked to us a bit after the game so I asked him if he'd want to come over for a while. He had an amazing game, by the way," Rusty explained, grinning.

"They won 28 to 0," James added, grabbing a Gatorade from the fridge and then tossing another one to Will.

Will nodded his thanks before glancing at Emma. "So what's up?"

Emma lifted her Nicholas Sparks novel. "Reading." She paused. "Wanna go upstairs?"

"Sure," Will nodded. He turned to Rusty and James. "See you guys later."

They called bye after him as he and Emma began their way up the stairs. "Cute PJs," Will smirked.

"Shut up," Emma muttered, punching his shoulder lightly. She laughed regardlessly though, her laugh making Will's grin all the more wider.

"Make me," Will proclaimed, sticking his tongue out at her.

"You're a goofball, you know that, right?"

"Yup," Will laughed, following her into her room.

"So," Emma started, plopping down on her bed. "First of all, great job at your football game."

"Thanks," Will smiled.

"No problem," Emma replied. She had a feeling their conversation was going to circle back to tomorrow's test so she decided to bring up a different subject. "I can't believe Halloween's next week."

Will gave her a shy half-smile. "Do you, like, maybe, have any plans for Halloween?"

Halloween was Thursday and they didn't have school on Friday because it was the first day of parent-teacher conferences. "No, why?" Emma said.

"Well," Will hesitated, reminding himself to breath. Sometimes it seemed that when he was with Emma, he forgot. She did have a bit of a habit for leaving him breathless. "There's this party…I mean, actually, it's my party. But it's at Terri's house for obvious reasons. It's a Halloween-themed party because my birthday's on Friday."

"William Schuester," Emma cut off. "Are you saying that your birthday's a week away and you didn't even think to tell me?"

Will blushed. "Whoops."

Emma just shook her head, playfully. "Continue," she urged.

"Okay," Will agreed. "Oh right…so not a lot of people are going to be there –Terri, Megan, Aubrey, Jensen, Cody, Ryan, and I. And you…that is, if you'd like to go. Would you?"

Emma smiled, not only because she was invited but because Will looked so nervous and hopeful; as if Will was afraid of being rejected by someone like her. "I'd love to go," Emma beamed.

Will breathed out a sigh of relief. "Great," Will grinned.

"Will Terri and the others be okay with it though? I wouldn't want to intrude," Emma wondered. Emma knew Will would say she was but Emma knew Terri wouldn't be. That was the thing. Will still looked at everyone with the "innocent" eye; like everyone was equal and popularity didn't exist. Which was kind of ironic, considering he was the most popular boy in the grade. Yet, he didn't even seem to notice.

"I talked to Terri earlier and she said it'd be fine," Will explained.

Emma raised an eyebrow but Will's face didn't budge. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Emma nudged him, softly. "Yes," he repeated, laughing.

"Will…" Emma teased.

"Okay, okay," Will relented. "So she didn't like it at first but then I talked her through it. I said if you weren't going, I wasn't going."

Emma's face flushed. "You really didn't have to go to all that trouble. It's really not a big deal if they don't want me there; I don't have to go."

"Uh…yeah you do," Will explained. "How does one have their birthday party without their best friend there?"

Emma giggled, feeling herself blush. "You're right, I should probably show up."

"You would be the guest of honor," Will said, his tone both casual and playful.

Emma smiled but couldn't help but feel that something bad could happen at this party. "Are you absolutely sure that it's okay with Terri?" Emma asked.

"Absolutely," he replied, stretching out the word's syllables to make a point. "Look Em, you're my best friend so I made sure it was okay. It took an almost hour-long debate with Terri, but I made sure."

"Thank you," Emma nodded. "You're really quite sweet." With that, Emma leaned over and gave Will a lingering kiss on the cheek; leaving him with slightly parted lips, reddened cheeks, a hammering heart, and a loss of breath.

* * *

Saturday morning came and Will was scarfing down a bowl of Cheerios at the kitchen table with Jewell. The dyslexia screening was at nine. He and Emma had scheduled the appointment as soon as he got the spelling test back. The school's special education specialist was set to run the tests and said they could take anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours. It was eight-thirty and Emma would come pick up Will in fifteen minutes.

"How do you feel?" Jewell asked, snapping Will out of his determined daze.

He looked up to find Jewell's tender blue eyes focused on him. Will had told her about the whole testing situation even before he took the spelling test. And of course, Jewell had been nothing but supportive the entire time. "Kind of nervous, but it's for the best, right?" He gave her a half-smile, trying to convince Jewell that his words were true. If only he could convince himself too.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you guys?" Jewell asked for the millionth time.

"Nah, I'll be fine," Will assured her, rinsing his bowl in the sink. "I have Emma, remember?"

Jewell smiled, thoughtfully. "Well, that girl does take good care of you."

"Yeah," Will laughed. "She does."

"When is she coming?" Jewell wondered.

Will's eyes shifted towards the window for a brief moment. "Emma should be here in a few minutes."

Jewell nodded before hesitating, and Will could tell she had something important to say. "William," Jewell started, seriousness clouding over in her blue eyes. "Whatever happens today; dyslexic or not, I want you to know that I will never love you any less. You're my little angel, always have been, and the fact that you learn differently than others won't change that. Okay, baby?"

Will nodded. "I love you," he whispered. Will pulled Jewell into a tight hug and rested his head on top of hers.

"I love you too," Jewell replied, releasing herself from his tight grip. "And you're going to do just fine today."

"Thanks for everything," Will said sincerely.

Jewell waved her hand carelessly. "No need for thanks. I'm your grandma, it's what grandmas do. Now, I can see Emma pulling into the driveway, you better get going."

Will looked out the window and sure enough, there was Emma's silver Honda driving in. "Well…bye," Will declared.

"Goodbye sweetie," Jewell waved him towards the door.

Will turned the doorknob and looked back hesitantly. He almost wanted to run back inside, dive under his bed covers and hide from this test for forever. But of course, he was sixteen and not six, and needed to face the world. "I'll be back soon," Will mumbled, closing the door behind him. Emma waved at him from the driver's seat and Will jogged towards the car. He swung open the passenger's seat and piled in. "Mornin' Em," Will greeted, strapping on the seat belt.

"Good morning, Will," Emma replied, a bit surprised by his smiling face. She started the car and began backing out of the driveway. "You ready for this?" she questioned, once they reached the end of the block.

"As ready as I can be," Will admitted. "You?"

Emma smiled. "I'm right there with you, buddy," Emma said, softly.

"Great," Will mumbled. And right then, Emma could tell that the nerves were starting to set in. Will was jiggling his right leg up and down and was pulling his sleeves up and over his hands and then back down again; these were both nervous habits of his that she'd picked up on. Emma wanted to tell him to stop but she then remembered how she got during a panic attack. Sometimes it felt good to just let it out and scrub the bathroom floor. Maybe she should let him keep fidgeting until they arrived, only in the off chance that it might sooth him. Emma hoped it would.

They were silent the whole way there, John Mayer's croons from the stereo being their only company. The parking lot was nearly deserted and Emma pulled into a spot easily. She cut the engine and Will was still squirming in his seat. "Hey," Emma sighed. No response. She poked his bicep and had to stop herself from blushing when she felt the muscle underneath fabric. "You okay?"

Will turned towards her and nodded quickly. "Mmhmm, yeah."

Emma nodded warily, not quite believing him. "This is for the best, okay? We have to know, or else the not-knowing will haunt you. Don't you want to know?"

"Yeah," Will mumbled. "Yeah, I guess so."

She searched his eyes for some sort of emotion but came up with nothing. He was unreadable; just like when he ran off and she tracked him down. It was like he was just shutting down. Going into self-destruct. Emma hated seeing him like this but knew there would be more of it after the test was over. He would be heartbroken either way, most likely. "Ready to go out there?"

The corners of Will's mouth curled up into a soft smile. "With you by my side, sure," he told her. "Let's go."

Emma grinned and followed him out of the car and to the double doors. There was the Will she missed. _Her Will. _Will opened the door for her and then followed Emma down to the special education wing, where a pretty woman with shoulder length chestnut waves and looked to be in her early thirties, was waiting for them. She looked to be the kind of woman who was good with kids; the kind that you could trust.

"Will Schuester?" the woman asked. "And Emma Pillsbury?"

Will nodded and felt relieved a bit; this lady didn't look too bad. "That's us," Will replied, a bit shyer than usual.

"I'm Ms. Drew," she greeted, offering a hand to them both, which they shook firmly. "But you can call me Julie."

"Nice to meet you, Julie," Emma replied, figuring that with her giving the test; it couldn't be that bad.

"Same goes for you," Julie smiled. "Anything I should know before we begin?"

"I don't think so," Will said, shaking his head.

Ms. Drew turned to Emma and gestured to an open office door. "Are you going to watch him take the test? Or do you think that will mess up his concentration?"

Emma glanced at Will out of the corner of her eye. As much as she'd love to stay and support Will (and she really would), she felt that he would get distracted with her there. It was definitely a safer bet to wait somewhere else while he took the test, so that he could give it his full attention. "Um…no I don't think so; I don't want to distract him. Is there somewhere else I can wait?"

The teacher nodded. "Of course. You can wait in my office," she offered, motioning to the open door. "Feel free to use my laptop, if you're bored."

Emma nodded her thanks and smiled at Will before turning and heading in the other direction. "Shall we?" Julie asked, opening the door to the classroom.

Will nodded, a bit hesitantly, and followed her inside. The first thing he noticed was that this classroom didn't really look like a classroom. It was more like a kindergarten room. There was a circular table in the middle with a few chairs around it. There was a big bookshelf filled with newer-looking books for all ages and big beanbags scattered around it. Along with a teacher's desk in the back, a Dry-Erase board on the wall and a few desks with laptops sitting on them. The room was brightly colored and it made Will feel a bit better. "Not your typical classroom, right?" Julie grinned, taking a seat at the round table.

Will sat next to her and his leg automatically began bouncing up and down. "Uh, yeah, not really," Will sputtered out.

"Hey," Julie replied softly, placing a hand on Will's shoulder. "Don't be so nervous, big guy. I'm here to help."

Will nodded, his cheeks a bit pink. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, forcing his leg to stop moving.

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone's a bit nervous coming in, Will. No need to be sorry," Ms. Drew assured him.

The boy smiled a bit. "Is the test hard?" he wondered.

"No," Julie laughed. "It's not like any of your school tests at all. It's not graded; it's just based on your abilities to do the required tasks. Nothing to worry about, Will."

Will bit his lip, the last time he worried this much was when his mom left them. "Oh. Is it on paper?"

"Most of it isn't," Julie started. "It's verbal and you reading stuff out loud mainly."

Will nodded, reminding himself to relax a bit. He kept telling himself that it was just based on his abilities; it wasn't going to be compared to anybody else's. "Okay."

"Just do your best, okay? Try your hardest but don't make your head hurt, bud."

"Sounds like a plan," Will laughed.

"So…ready to start?" Ms. Drew asked.

Will let out a deep breath, one that he hadn't realized he'd been holding in. "I guess so," he announced.

"Great," Julie smiled. "Tell me about yourself."

Will raised an eyebrow, puzzled. "I thought we were starting…?"

"We are," she laughed. "It's not all hard questions."

"Oh," Will smiled, loosening up a bit. "I'm sixteen and a junior. I play football, basketball, and soccer."

"I've heard you're really good," Julie interrupted.

Will shrugged. "I try to be. I guess I would like school more if it wasn't so hard for me and I really wish I was smarter; that's all I can think of."

"Interesting," Julie nodded. "I'm going to say some words and I need you to repeat them after me."

"Um okay, but I don't have a speech problem," Will replied, a bit confused.

"I know," she informed him. "But I have to check and certain speech patterns are linked to dyslexia."

Will nodded and proceeded to repeat every word she told him for about the next ten minutes. He only slipped up on three big words that he'd never heard before, so he assumed he did well on that section of the test. Ms. Drew was now rummaging through a file, pulling out some papers. "The next portion is writing and spelling," she announced. "I'm going to tell you what words to spell out loud and then you write them down on this piece of paper. I'll go through the list by grade level, so it'll get harder as we go on. Okay?"

Will twirled the pencil around in his hand, knowing this was where the real testing for him was going to begin. "Okay," he agreed, quietly.

The learning specialist nodded and looked down at her paper. "Dog." Will scribbled down a few letters. "Bike." She waited for Will to finish up. "Girl." Another pause. "Witch as in the Halloween one…bear as in the animal…their as in possession." Julie waited for him to catch up. "Catch…cabinet…dictionary…thesaurus…definitely." More scribbling from Will. "Usually…sometimes…possession…economy…heading…temp lates, and we're done," Julie announced.

"Here ma'am," Will offered, passing her the paper. He pulled at his sleeves nervously as the specialist looked over his work. Will bit his lip as he watched Julie raise an eyebrow at his paper, clearly puzzled by whatever he did.

She read his paper in her head, word by word.

_DoG_

_ Bik_

_ GIRl_

_ WesHt_

_ BAre_

_ Their _

_ CAtSch_

_ CabeniT_

_ DiKtcHinarE_

_ Thesores_

_ DefeNetlee_

_ UshaLly_

_ SometimeS_

_ POseshin_

_ EconoMee_

_ HediNg_

_ TemPletes_

"Um, Will?"

Will looked up, caught off guard a bit. "Yeah?"

"I was just wondering why do you capitalize some letters but not others? Like you capitalized some letters right smack in the middle of the word. Why?" Julie asked, kindly. She gestured to the paper for Will to see.

Will furrowed his brow. "I just write what I see in my head, I try to sound it out…is that wrong?"

"Not exactly," she replied. "By looking at your paper, I can definitely tell that you were sounding out the words in your head. But I can also tell that you have extreme difficulties with spelling and problems placing capitalization."

"Oh," Will sighed, his hands skimming over the top of his curls.

Julie gave him a reassuring smile. "That's perfectly fine though, Will. Most all people who come in here at first have lots of problems with these kinds of things. I'll help you."

"Thank you," Will said, smiling a bit now.

"No problem." Ms. Drew sorted through her papers once more, pulling out a series of flashcards. "You might not like the next exercise but it's the reading section."

"Oh boy," Will laughed. "From writing to reading…"

"They go hand in hand."

"That they do," Will smirked.

"Shall we?" Julie asked, scooping up the cards.

"Sure," Will replied.

She held up a card reading "house" and Will correctly read it. The next word was "igloo."

Will squinted at the paper for a few seconds. "I…I don't think I know that word," he stammered, confused.

"Just try to sound it out," Julie instructed, soothingly.

"I…j…loo," Will suggested, mistaking the g for a j.

"Almost," Julie informed him. From there, they continued reading or attempting to read multiple words ranging from kindergarten level to eleventh grade level (where he should be at). Not surprisingly, Will struggled with most words from the fourth grade level and above. He could barely make out the high school level words and Julie felt twinges of sympathy for the boy. She felt even worse as she pulled out the next batch of cards, the ones with words written backwards and upside down. Julie already knew that Will most likely wouldn't even be able to tell that those were words. She held up a card reading "hello" backwards.

Will squinted his eyes then relaxed them; his hazel orbs clouded over with confusion. "That's not a word," he exclaimed. "It can't be. The letters are moving."

"It's a word, Will, just look at it from a different perspective," Julie suggested, calmly.

Will narrowed his eyes at the paper again before shaking his head. "No…no…stop it. You're trying to trick me."

Julie picked up her note pad that she had been writing notes on and scribbled down another one about him. "I guess we'll just move on to the next word then," she sighed, pulling out the word "supplies" upside down. "What about this one? Try to sound it out."

Will ran both hands through his curls, exasperated. He tugged slightly on the curls at the nape of his neck and then released them slowly. "I don't know," Will mumbled softly.

"Try."

Will pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked up, his hands fidgeting with one another rapidly. "I…I can't! Okay? That's not a word!" He pointed at the paper with his finger, clearly frustrated.

"Will…calm down," Ms. Drew instructed, her voice calm and soft.

"This just…it isn't fair!" Will cried out, now reaching the point of anger. "It's not a word and even if it was, I wouldn't be able to read it."

Julie placed a hand on his shoulder. "Take a deep breath, buddy, we're going to make it through this, okay?" she assured him. Surprisingly, Will listened; his eyes fluttering closed and his chest heaving up and down for a few moments.

"I-I'm sorry," Will stammered. "I didn't mean to get louder like that. I'm really sorry."

"No, no," Julie shook her head. "It's absolutely fine, Will. Those were some tough things to read and I think we'll just skip the rest of them."

He looked at her with wide hazel eyes. "Oh okay…um is there anything left to do?" Will asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Julie nodded. "Unfortunately yes, but look on the bright side; the only things left are math and these perspective exercises."

"What are perspective exercises?" Will questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"They're really easy and the great thing is that there isn't any right or wrong answers," Julie explained. "I just show you some pictures and you tell me what you see in them. Simple."

Will nodded and with that, the two of them continued. They found that Will struggled with the easy logistics of math, the kinds of things everyone should know by third grade. But the important thing was that Ms. Drew could really tell that he was trying his hardest. The two of them had now moved on from the math section and were beginning the perspective section. Ms. Drew held up a paper with a splattered ink blot on it. "What do you see, Will?" she asked.

"Ink?" Will shrugged.

Julie moved the paper closer to him. "Of course but what do _you _see? A shape? A form? People? Tell me."

Will squinted at the paper. "Um…it kind of looks like the Hollister bird," Will said, smiling a bit.

"Oh! I see it," Julie laughed. She brushed a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and held up a card with a picture of a house on it. "Tell me about this house."

Will scratched his ear lobe for a second and then looked up. "People live in it?" he offered.

"And…? Tell me about those people," Julie instructed. Will hesitated and Julie added, "Use your imagination."

"Well…there's a boy and he's six and there's a mom. The kind of mom who has snacks waiting for you when you come home from school and tucks you in at night. There's also the dad; the kind of dad who's big and strong but doesn't yell a lot and plays sports with you. Um…all of them are happy and no one ever leaves each other," Will told her, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Does this remind you of your family?" Ms. Drew asked, a tender tone to her voice.

"No," Will admitted before realizing what he'd just said. "I mean, I'm not six anymore," he added, quickly.

"Oh okay," Julie replied, with a sympathetic smile. "Last one," she announced, holding up a picture of a stick figure boy all alone on a swing set.

"Tell a story?" Will double checked.

"Yup," Julie nodded, encouragingly. "Go ahead."

"Well, let's see. Um…okay, the boy's mom is gone," Will announced.

"Where is she?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know, just gone. The dad's away at work all the time so he has to take care of people."

"Who does the boy take care of?" Julie questioned, jotting a few notes down in her note pad.

Will bit his lip, mulling over what to say. "Er…he takes care of his little brother. His little brother's a baby," Will explained.

"Is there a reason why he's alone on the swing?" Julie wondered, intently.

"Yes," Will stammered, quickly, surprising both himself and Julie. "After his brother and dad fall asleep, he goes to the backyard where the swing is and sits there and swings and tries to have a good time. Because he wants so badly to do the things that the kids his age do; like swinging. So he thinks that if he does this stuff, it's like he's trying to act like he has a childhood, because, in all honesty, his is gone. The little boy grew up before he was even ready to."

Julie paused for a second before nodding thoughtfully. "Thank you, Will, that was very good," she declared, after a few seconds passed by.

"Am I done now?" Will mumbled, scratching his nose lightly.

"Yes," Julie exclaimed. "High-five, bud! You got through it."

Will's face broke out into a grin as he reached across the table and lightly slapped the teacher's hand. "Finally," he replied, happily.

Julie smiled at his innocent happiness and adored the boy for just that because she knew in about ten minutes, he might not be smiling like that anymore. "I'm going to go total up the scores and look over your results in the back room," Julie announced. "I'll be right back, okay?"

"Sure," Will nodded. He watched as Julie exited the classroom and realized for the first time since the test began that he was about to find out. Really find out. The big question would finally be answered; was he dyslexic? After finishing the test, Will didn't feel any smarter nor did he feel dumber. He knew he tried his best on the test and Julie had said from the start that that was all that mattered. But Will wasn't that naïve. He knew that even his best might not be good enough. But the real question was good enough for what? This wasn't a scored test for school. It was an assessment for possible dyslexia. So what did he have to be good enough for? Good enough so he wasn't a dyslexic? Did that even make sense? Will sighed, deciding that maybe Ms. Drew was right after all. Maybe it really was just about doing your best and hoping for the best. Right now, for the next few minutes, Will didn't feel like racking his brain about everything that he had just been tested on and the endless possibilities, so he pulled out his iPod and started a game of _Subway Surfers._

* * *

Julie walked back into the room a few minutes later to find Will hunched over his iPod. "Will?" she said, calling his attention.

Will clicked a button and tucked the iPod away, into his jeans pocket. "Yeah?" the teen replied, looking up.

Julie took the seat across from him at the round table and pondered over how to deliver the news. She sat her file of his information down and looked into his hopeful eyes. "I have your results," Julie started.

"And?"

"You have dyslexia," Julie informed him.

In that moment, she could tell he just got crushed; his shoulders drooped, his fingers dug into his palms, he let out a deep breath, and his eyelids came crashing down leaving his brown eyelashes to tickle his cheekbones. Will didn't say anything but he didn't have to, he was truly defeated. All of these years, he had thought he was just stupid. Dumb. Couldn't read as well as the other kids. But now that he knew there was a reason behind it, he didn't feel any better. Instead, he felt as though he was diagnosed with being stupid, because now he really was mentally retarded.

"It's not an extremely bad case, but I'd say it's worse than usual for your age. I'm guessing that's because you've never been treated nor had any special help. So, on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the best and 10 being the worst, I'd say you're around an 8. But within time, it'll get a lot better, don't worry," Julie explained, glancing from her papers to the boy in front of her. Will still hadn't looked up.

Julie reached out bravely to take his hand. It was a simple gesture, but effective. It was something Emma would've done, had she been in the room. Will looked up when he felt her hand against his, his eyes connected with hers, and he curled his fingers around her hand tightly. "Your scores are compared to age levels. In speaking, you're at a sixteen year old's level, which is perfect. Your writing level, just based off spelling not random capitalization or handwriting, is around that of a seven year old. Your reading level ranges from a seven year old to a nine year old. Your perspective level is curiously high, at that of a fifteen year old which is good for a dyslexic."

"I'm pretty stupid, huh," Will grumbled to himself.

"No, not at all," Julie assured him, but Will wasn't paying attention. "Hey…look at me, Will." Will looked up, biting his lip. "You're not stupid at all. Your brain works differently than everyone else's. I'm not saying your brain is like a seven year old's because it's not. I'm saying that in that area of study, your brain functions like a seven year old's because of your dyslexia. You're still a very smart boy, okay?"

Will nodded, mumbling an unconvincing "sure."

"So now that you've been diagnosed, I'll have to talk to your teachers and your guidance counselor about switching out one of your elective classes for a class in here," Julie informed him.

"What do you mean 'a class in here'?" Will wondered, quietly.

"Well, you're still going to have tutoring sessions with Emma but along with that, you have to be in a special education class. A few other specialists and I work with kids with learning disabilities throughout the day. So for an hour, you'll come in here with me, and we'll work on exercises and other things to improve your dyslexia. It's easy and it's a lot more laidback than your regular classes," Ms. Drew explained.

Will nodded, solemnly, still not a change in his sad mood. Right now, he felt like disappearing. Will felt like there it was on his forehead, written out for the whole world to see; DYSLEXIC. But most of all, he didn't want Emma to know. Which was stupid because obviously she was going to be one of the only people to know, but he felt ashamed, like now there was no way he was even good enough for her.

"I'm going to go talk to Emma," Julie declared, standing up. "You can wait here."

Will didn't even look up, knowing his response wasn't going to matter.

* * *

Emma looked up from her phone when Ms. Drew entered the small office. "Hi Emma," Julie greeted, kindly.

"Hey," Emma replied, thoughts racing through her mind about Will.

"We finished testing." Emma's eyes widened to twice their size with hope. "Will's been diagnosed with dyslexia," Julie explained.

Emma's face fell. "Oh…how bad is it?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10, it's about an 8," Julie replied. "But! I'm going to inform his counselor and his teachers about this diagnosis and we're going to switch out one of his electives for a special education class with me. So, every day he'll work with me for an hour on exercises to improve his dyslexia. It's very laidback and I think he might actually enjoy it."

"Will he still need me as a tutor?" Emma asked, hoping that he would.

"Of course," Julie laughed. "You seem to be doing a great job as his tutor. Take it from me; it takes a lot of patience working with kids who have a learning disability."

Emma smiled a bit. "How's he taking it, though?"

"Well…" Julie grimaced. "He's taking it in slowly. I think…"

"He's crushed," Emma interrupted.

"Yeah, basically," Julie agreed. "My heart's breaking for the guy; his face just totally deflated when I told him. Lucky for him, he has a girl like you to cheer him up."

Emma blushed. "Hopefully I'm able to do that."

"I'm sure you will have him smiling in no time," Julie grinned. "He's really such a sweet boy."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. If only he could be her sweet boy and not Terri's, Terri was anything but sweet towards Will.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something," Julie said.

"Shoot."

"Do you know of any…problems in the Schuester household?" Julie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Emma cleared her throat, suddenly thrown into the spotlight. "What do you mean?"

"Well, during the perspective exercise, Will's answers were a bit peculiar. There was a boy on the swing by himself and Will told a story about how he was all alone. The boy's family was pretty much always gone and the boy had to take care of his baby brother. And then, when everyone was asleep, the boy would sit on the swing just to act his age. To try to savor his childhood, even when he didn't have one. I don't know if this makes any sense…Will probably told it better," Julie told her.

Actually, it made perfect sense. Because Emma knew a different little boy who had something similar and she reminded herself to hug Will plenty of times today. "Well, I mean, that's a sad story but Will's family doesn't have any issues at home. I'm over there a lot and yup, no problems. He was probably just making something up off the top of his head," Emma said, a little too quickly.

"Oh," Julie nodded. "Okay. Well, let me know if anything comes up."

"I will," Emma promised. "Is there anything else I needed to know?"

"Nope," Julie smiled, leading them out the door and back to where Will was.

The two of them entered the room to find Will's elbows resting on his knees and his chin nestled in his hands. "Emma's here for you," Julie announced. "The two of you can go now and I'll see you on Monday, Will. You did a great job today, okay?"

Will nodded subtly before getting up and walking out, forcing himself to say bye to his new teacher. Once they reached the hall and were walking towards the doors, Emma spoke up. "Um, she told me about your results."

Will didn't look at Emma, just kept walking towards the door. He reached it in a few long strides and held open the door for Emma and then walked quickly and quietly to her car. Emma unlocked the car and slipped into the driver's seat behind Will. She started the engine and still no words were spoken. Once they rounded the corner, the silence was unbearable for Emma. "Will, say something," Emma whispered.

"I'm dyslexic," Will grumbled, looking out the window.

"And that's okay, Will," Emma admitted. "You're perfect, okay? You're you and that's more than enough for me." Emma reached across the cup holders and held one of Will's hands. When he didn't look at her but squeezed her hand instead, Emma knew that they would talk more at his house. If he would talk, that was.

Will held onto Emma's hand the whole way to his house and reluctantly let it go when they pulled into the driveway. It was around noon, Emma noticed, glancing at the clock. She and Will got out of the car and Will unlocked the front door and stepped inside. By the time Emma reached the door, Will was not in sight. She closed the door behind her and slipped off her shoes. "Will?" she called.

Jewell walked out from the den to greet Emma. "He went straight to his room, darling," Jewell said.

"Oh," Emma sighed. "Did he tell you about his test yet?"

"Nope," Jewell replied. "I'm guessing that's exactly why he ran straight to his room though."

"He…um…Will's dyslexic," Emma declared, quietly, in case Will was listening from afar.

Jewell nodded, sadly but seriously. "I thought he might be. How bad is it?"

"The specialist said on a scale of 1 to 10, it's around an 8," Emma replied. "But he'll gradually improve now that he has to take a special help class."

"That's good at least," Jewell added. She leaned in and lowered her voice. "How's he doing?"

"He was absolutely silent on the way home," Emma whispered. "Couldn't get a word out of him."

"He gets like that sometimes; when he's sad or angry. It's best just to let him wrap his mind around whatever's happening," Jewell confessed.

Emma nodded, thoughtfully, knowing that she might be able to talk to him for a bit and get something out of him. "Should I go talk to him?" Emma wondered. "I think it might help."

Jewell nodded, enthusiastically. "You always seem to cheer him up, so why don't you give it a shot?"

"Okay, thank you, Jewell," Emma smiled, before turning down the hall and knocking on Will's closed door. "Will…?" No reply. She gently pushed the door open and saw Will with his back towards her. He was hunched over, sitting on his bed. "Will?" One of his shoulders dropped and then the other and all of a sudden, his shoulders were shaking. His face was in his hands and his breathing was becoming ragged. It only took a few seconds for Emma to come to the realization. Will was crying. A lot.

Emma slowly approached him and sat beside him. Now she could really see him and what she saw was a scared little boy. He was crying the worst kind of crying. The kind where your shoulders shake, the tears come hot and fast and don't stop, your breathing becomes huffy, and you cover your face because you feel alone. Emma wrapped an arm around him and hugged him from the side, making him have to stop covering his face. Will looked up, eyelashes wet and spiky and tear-filled eyes big and wide. "Oh Will…" Emma murmured.

Will bit his lip and his bottom lip was trembling violently as well as his chin. Emma realized he didn't want to cry in front of her. "Let it out, Will," Emma urged. "It's okay, I'm here."

Will exhaled loudly and shakily and tears began streaming down his face. Emma moved so his head rested on her shoulder and she wrapped her hand around his shoulder and ran her hand up and down his arm soothingly. He was letting out choked sobs and Emma kept whispering "shh…shhh…it's okay" in his ear. She could feel his tears wetting her hoodie but at this point she didn't care. All she cared about was Will. "I-I'm s-sorry Em," Will stuttered. "I-I really t-tried."

At that comment, Emma tilted his chin up so his head was in her hands. "Hey…" she whispered. "I don't care if you're dyslexic, Will, or if you lose a football game or if you really do have a lot of flaws. Do you know why?"

"Why?" he choked out, Emma rubbing the tears from his face.

"Because nothing you do could make me love you any less," Emma admitted. She lightly stroked his cheek. "I really wish you could see you from my eyes because then you might be able to see how perfect you are."

Will gave her a teary smile. "I read and write like a seven year old, I'm now mentally retarded so Terri can be politically correct when she calls me a retard, and I don't deserve to be loved by you."

"No, you don't. You deserve so much more," Emma confessed. "Your flaws make you who you are and who you are is pretty beautiful."

Will choked back a sob. "Why do you still wanna be my friend? Aren't you embarrassed of me?"

"Not at all," Emma smiled, as Will nestled his head back on her shoulder. "Your intelligence is never measured in a test score."

"Well, this test wasn't scored and I still failed," Will mumbled, his tears now drying a bit.

Emma sighed. "You are so much smarter than you know, never forget that."

Will nodded, his eyes closing. "I'm sorry for breaking down like that," Will murmured into her shoulder.

Emma ran a hand through his curls, playing with the ones at the nape of his neck. "I'm always here for you, Will. I'll promise to keep you whole if you promise to keep me brave," Emma told him.

"I promise," Will said, holding her free hand.

Emma smiled and continued lightly playing with his hair. She was pretty sure that he was about to fall asleep, his eyes kept fluttering open and closed, and honestly, it was about the most adorable thing she'd seen.

"I love you, Emma," Will whispered, just before his eyes closed.

"I love you too, Soldier," Emma replied, shell shocked. She knew it would take a lot for Will to be that vulnerable and say he loved someone, after all the letting people close issues he'd been through. Which could only mean one thing; he really loved her. Emma knew he meant as a friend but it was the most beautiful "I love you." It was simple, raw, and told while he was half-asleep, and it was perfect.

Emma watched Will's chest heave up and down slowly and noted how he unconsciously snuggled closer to her, his head falling into her lap. It was like she was seeing him at his most peaceful, his most vulnerable state, and she couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again.

Because, she realized, she had fallen in love the way you fall asleep; slowly and then all at once.

* * *

**Aaaand there you have it. The last line was stolen from the lovely author John Green. The rest of the chapter was mine aha. ;)**

**So um yeah, this chapter was ridiculously late and I'm really sorry about that. :P I was grounded from my laptop for the last few months of the school year so basically that was the reason. I had really bad grades and I had to get them up. Blah. At least school's over. But we got out on the 13****th**** and then I was really going to write a lot but then I had this thing called friends. And these people kept calling me to hang out and I didn't wanna be rude so…haha. It's summer, I had to have some fun guys. But I'm back now! I'm sorry though. I will try to have the next chapter up by next Monday and try to get back on my regular schedule here, guys. **

**I hope y'all are still reading this and if you are, please leave a review. ;) Also I'm very sorry to the lovely Mlissa Mays. I didn't know if you had an FF or tumblr so I couldn't contact you when you were leaving all those lovely guest reviews. :P Let me know if you have one! **

**Tumblr-iluvwillschuester**

**Oh! And btw I got all my dyslexic information from the internet and my dyslexic friend. So I'm sorry if any of it's wrong, I tried my hardest and I hope I don't like offend anybody or anything. **


	12. Chapter 12- Count on Me

Chapter 12- Count on Me

**Author's Note- Hey guys! Chapter 12 is here! And on time ;)**

* * *

It was around six-thirty at night on Sunday night and Will was going over his social studies notes. Yesterday, he had fallen asleep on Emma for about an hour and when he woke up, she was still there. They played Mario Kart for a few hours to get his mind off the dyslexia news and they made ice cream sundaes in the kitchen. It had ended up being a pretty good day instead of a horrible one. Sure, he was still mad about the dyslexia issue but Emma had been able to cheer him up for a bit. After Emma left, Will had a long talk with Jewell about being diagnosed. Today had been a bit of a lazy day and Will had just studied some homework, texted Emma a bit, and watched reruns of _How I Met Your Mother. _

Jewell had fallen asleep about thirty minutes ago on the sofa while watching the news, so it was relatively quiet in the house other than the turning of pages and the tapping of Will's pencil. Will's phone buzzed and he scooped it out of his pocket, eager for the distraction. He smiled when he saw Emma's name lighting up the screen.

**6:30 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster**

Hey. You busy?

**6:31 PM Message from Cookie Monster to Emma Pillsbury**

Just going over SS notes. You?

**6:31 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster**

I'm just sitting around. Do you think I could borrow you for a bit?

**6:32 PM Message from Cookie Monster to Emma Pillsbury**

Pretty sure. ;) Jewell's asleep so I'll leave a note. What's the plan, Em?

**6:32 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster**

It's a secret. Can I walk over?

**6:32 PM Message from Cookie Monster to Emma Pillsbury**

Secrets, secrets are no fun unless you share with everyone.

**6:33 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster**

I'm guessing you've never seen _Pretty Little Liars. _

**6:33 PM Message from Cookie Monster to Emma Pillsbury**

Oooh what's that? Should I be watching it?

**6:34 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster**

Haha no, it's a girl show, Will.

**6:34 PM Message from Cookie Monster to Emma Pillsbury **

Now I know what DVDs to rent if you ever get sick. ;)

**6:35 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster**

While that's incredibly sweet, we're getting way off topic. ;) Can I walk over now?

**6:35 PM Message from Cookie Monster to Emma Pillsbury**

I thought you were already on your way. ;)

**6:37 PM Message from Emma Pillsbury to Cookie Monster **

Well I am now. ;) See you in a bit.

Will glanced out the kitchen window; it was sunny out and looked warm for an October day. He guessed it was mid-sixties out; warm enough so he didn't need a hoodie. Will's gray Hollister tee and American Eagle khaki cargo pants would be fine. He quickly cleared the table of homework and lasagna leftovers and then headed to the front door. Will pulled on his Adidas Sambas, scribbled down a note for Jewell and left it on the coffee table (in case she woke up), and grabbed the house keys. Emma appeared at his door a few minutes later, dressed in a gray cable knit sweater, dark blue skinny jeans, and ballet flats. Will opened the door and stepped outside to meet her. "Hey Em," he greeted, locking the door behind him.

"Hi Will," Emma replied, leading him down the porch steps.

"We're walking right?" Will asked, smiling at her.

Emma nodded. "Yup, we're going to the left," she instructed. The two of them walked in silence to the end of the block, and then kept going straight. It was a comfortable silence though, one where the quietness did all the talking. They didn't need to speak to each other with words when they could look at each other with feelings. They walked another block and by then, their feet were practically in sync. Will shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and then back out and then back in. He knew where he wanted them to be, but he couldn't gather the courage to reach out and take Emma's hand. With each step, he tried to swing his arm out a bit further, hoping for accidental brushes of the skin. A few strides later, their pinkies finally brushed and Will bit his lip. Suddenly, he felt Emma's small hand slide into his. Will felt his cheeks heat up and looked at Emma. She was biting her lip and hiding a half smile beneath her rosy cheeks.

They continued on for a few more blocks, the only sounds being their shoes hitting the sidewalk and slapping the leaves of practically every tree they passed. But their hands never left each other's. Will looked up and noticed they were approaching Lima Park. "Are we going to the park?" he asked, pointing to it with his free hand.

Emma shook her head. "We're going through it."

"What does that mean?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"It means it's on our way," Emma started. "And you should really stop asking so many questions; it's not like I'm kidnapping you."

This got a laugh out of Will. "Okay, okay, fine," he relented, remembering when he guided her to Waffle World. "So, what'd you do today?"

"You already know most of it from what I told you on my phone," Emma replied, stepping around a patch of mud and leading Will around it with her hand as well.

"That's okay," Will smiled. "I like hearing it from you." Will really did though; he loved seeing Emma's eyes light up as she talked about something she loved or something she did. It was in those moments when she was all big brown eyes, wide smiles, and glowing cheeks. Will only hoped that maybe she looked something like that when she talked about him to someone. Not that he was trying to be selfish or anything; he just hoped he made her that happy. Because, more than anything, he just wanted her to be happy.

"Well," Emma started. "I studied AP Chemistry for a few hours, and then I read some…"

"Why do you like reading so much?" Will interrupted. "Sorry. I was just wondering."

Emma was surprised at his question; it was rare that Will would ask about something school related outside of a tutoring session. But then again, maybe with his disability reading had never been really fun for him, perhaps he even hated it. Will had never got the chance to escape through a book like Emma did frequently and suddenly she wished he could. It was a great thing to escape, just a moment where your troubles could disappear and everything else around you just stops spinning. "Um, well, it's hard to explain," Emma started. "It's like you start a book and you become attached. You're able to escape into this little world momentarily and nothing there can hurt you and no one can take that away from you. So, you fall in love with these characters and their stories and maybe it's because you see yourself in them, or maybe it's because they're everything you wish you could be. These words, these books; they make you feel things. And maybe that's what the greatest thing about reading is. The fact that those little black typed out letters, written by people you've never even met, carry so much emotion that you just want to stay in there forever. Does that even make sense?"

Will smiled and looked into Emma's eyes. "Yeah," he said, softly. "It really does."

"I'm sorry," Emma stammered. "I shouldn't be talking about that with all that happened yesterday."

"No, it's fine," Will assured her. "I wanted to know because, you know, I may never really be able to appreciate a book like you can."

"It's not your fault," Emma replied quickly.

Will nodded, subtly. He just realized they were nearing the end of the trail that Emma had led him through, in the trail they were surrounded by trees, shrubs, and dirt. Now, there was a vast valley of grass in front of them with a set of raised train tracks cutting through it. The tracks were about four feet off the ground but looked easy to climb, they were a bit worn but not enough so that there were loose screws. For some reason, the sight was so ordinary but it was the beautiful kind of ordinary, the kind that still took Will's breath away and made his eyes widen.

"Train tracks," Will breathed.

"They only operate at night," Emma explained. "So, I come out here to read and just…escape, but I wanted to show you them."

"Thank you," Will said quietly, walking towards the tracks. He dragged his hand along the top of the tracks; feeling every indent and crevice on the rusty track.

Emma followed behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, Will, let's sit," she suggested.

Will climbed the beams in a few swift movements of his arms and legs. He leaned over and gave Emma a soft tug, pulling her up onto the tracks. Emma sat beside him, close enough so that their legs were touching and she could feel the heat radiating off his body. Will's hands were gripping the edge of the beam and his feet were crossed as well as swinging back and forth. He looked happy and that was honestly all that Emma wanted to see. She had already accomplished her mission before even telling him about the tracks or possibilities to make things better for his future. "It's nice out today," Emma noted.

Will nodded before turning towards Emma. "Em…do fish drink water?"

Emma looked over at Will and realizing that he was serious, she erupted into a fit of giggles. "What do you mean 'do fish drink water'?"

Will's brow furrowed. "I'm serious." Emma bit her lip to keep from laughing again. "Like they live underwater but it's really confusing, because if they drank that water then it would be like drinking your home."

"And?" Emma urged, her cheeks hurting from laughing.

"I think all living things need water to survive," Will continued. "But's it's like if they drank that water, it would be bad, because there's like poop and pee in there. Also, they might choke because they're surrounded by it. Imagine if they opened their mouths and water just flooded them. It might go down the wrong pipe! Or even worse, it might fill up their whole body so it would blow them up like the fish with spikeys in _Finding Nemo._"

Emma rocked back and forth for a few more minutes, giggles and snorts leaving her mouth. "How did you even come up with that?" she cried, a big grin on her face.

Will shrugged, smiling. "Just thought of it."

"First off, that fish from _Finding Nemo _is called a blowfish and he doesn't get that way from inhaling too much water. It happens when they're aggravated, I think. I don't know. But anyways, fish drinking their home? Will Schuester, you have a creative mind."

"Thanks but really, do they?" he wondered, scratching the bridge of his nose.

Emma smiled at Will, genuinely. "I honestly don't know. That is a really confusing question but you seem to have a good theory."

"Yes!" Will pumped his fist in the air. "I found a question that even the all-knowing Emma Pillsbury doesn't know the answer to."

Emma blushed. "It was like an impossible question, Will. Fish are the only ones who know the answer, if that. They probably swim around and choke on their water, how are we supposed to know?"

Will laughed. "The new greatest mystery of all time," he announced.

"Definitely," Emma agreed, beaming. She loved how they could go from being completely open about their thoughts and having deep conversations to talking and giggling about the silliest things, without it being weird at all. It was simple and right now, that was exactly what the two of them needed.

"So," Will started, the smile on his face as wide as that of a five-year-old.

"So," Emma mocked, teasingly.

"I've done some thinking," Will continued.

Emma poked his thigh. "You? Thinking?"

Will smiled, rolling his hazel eyes. "Remember our deal?"

"Of course," Emma exclaimed. "If you sing for me, I get to go to one of your football games."

"Right," he nodded. "I've been practicing a lot and I was thinking that maybe you'd like to hear me."

"_Maybe you'd like to hear me_?" Emma repeated incredulously. "Of course, I'd _love _to hear you, Will!"

Will smiled, bashfully. "Okay, just checking. I think I can sing it tomorrow after we're done tutoring at my house," he suggested.

"Tomorrow sounds lovely," Emma replied, nudging his shoulder.

He blushed, watching Emma out of the corner of his eye until a side of his mouth curled up into a smile. "I'll have my guitar ready," Will announced.

"I get the double whammy? Guitar and singing? I can't wait," Emma beamed.

Will laughed. "Don't get too excited, I'm not that good."

"You say that about everything," Emma started. "But you're so much better at all those things than you'll ever believe."

Will nodded, his heart soaring as it did whenever Emma complimented him. "Thank you," the boy whispered, looking at the ground below.

"That's kind of why I brought you here today," Emma explained. "To explore your options, I guess."

"What kinds of options?" Will arched his left eyebrow.

Emma pulled a loose strand of hair behind her ear, one that Will had been aching to push back since they sat down. "Ones for your future," she told him.

"I really don't want to talk about my future or if I even have one right now," Will sighed, scratching that same phantom itch on the bridge of his nose.

"Don't be like that, Will," Emma said. "You do have a future and it's beyond just Lima. You're going places."

"If you say so," Will shrugged.

"This is why I brought you here to show you these train tracks," Emma announced, gesturing to the tracks they were sitting on.

"I'm not following…"

"These train tracks are in the middle of nowhere, right?" Emma started. "But they go places all over the state of Ohio. They started small; it was just for getting around Lima and its surrounding cities but then new tracks kept getting attached and they went further and further out. They go in all directions and make it to all kinds of different places." Will glanced around, noticing that indeed four more branches of tracks were attached. "They made it, Will. These tracks started small, in the middle of nowhere, and they went places. Just like you will someday. You can't change where you come from, Will, but that's okay. Because it's not where you come from, it's where you go from there."

Will looked around at the different branches and wondered how far in each direction they all traveled. Then he wondered if Emma was right. If he would ever make it someday, if he truly was going places, just like the train tracks. And, looking around, for the first time, he truly believed that he would make it one day. After a few minutes, he turned back to Emma, a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Emma," he said quietly.

Emma reached out and took his hand in hers. For a while, the two of them just sat like that in complete silence. Their hands intertwined, wind rustling behind them, Will's legs swinging and Emma's still, and in that moment it was okay. For those minutes, Will forgot about paying the bills, taking care of Jewell, his dad in danger, Miles and his mom leaving him, and even his newly diagnosed dyslexia. He could only think of the girl sitting beside him and that was okay.

* * *

Monday's school day seemed to drag on slowly for both Will and Emma unfortunately. Emma was dying to hear Will sing but the classes seem to go on forever. It's like the clock was set twenty minutes behind usual time. Not even AP Chemistry was fun for her, which was extremely rare. She couldn't stop thinking about Will, which was normal, but today it was becoming exceedingly hard to focus with thoughts of Will's lovely voice singing later on. Not just singing, but singing to her! Emma felt like the luckiest girl in the world and couldn't help but wonder if she ever made Will feel this special. So when the final bell rang and her AP English class began filing out the door, Emma practically ran to her locker.

Will was putting the last of his textbooks in his backpack when Emma tapped his shoulder. "Hey you," Will grinned, dropping his Physics book into his backpack.

"Hi Will," Emma replied, following him as he shut his locker and began walking towards the door. "How was your day?"

Will hooked his thumbs into his backpack straps and stepped outside, right behind Emma. "I have got a lot to tell you," Will replied. "About my day, that is."

Emma nodded, promptly. "Once we get into the car, I want to hear all about it." The outside of McKinley was very noisy as soon as school let out with sports teams taking the field, couples making out, boys arguing and whatnot. About a minute later, they reached Emma's Honda in the lot and she unlocked it. Will piled into the passenger seat and Emma slid into the driver's seat. She started the car and began maneuvering it out of the parking lot.

"Okay," Will started. "I had my first "special" class today. You know, academic assistance and stuff."

Emma nodded. "The one we talked about on Saturday morning?"

"That's the one," Will agreed. "Ms. Drew was my teacher. There were three teachers and six kids in my class. So, like two students to a teacher."

"How were the other kids?" Emma asked, turning onto Will's block.

"They were…normal. I mean, they weren't like with Down syndrome or anything extreme. Most of them had a learning disability like ADD, dyslexia, or this other one called dysgraphia. They were all really nice to me," Will explained.

Emma smiled. "See? It's not that bad, Will."

"Ms. Drew worked with me on reading. She gave me this packet and it's like a story but it's shorter and easier than books for our age. But I had to read the words on each page four times, luckily, there's just a few sentences on each page," Will continued, smiling a bit.

"Was it a picture book?" Emma wondered.

"Um…sort of," Will replied, blushing a bit.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed," Emma told him. "You're reading stuff that's perfect for your level and that's how you get better. I'm proud of you."

Will's smile returned. "It was actually kind of fun though. We got to sit on bean bags and all the teachers there were really calm and quieter than other teachers. Plus, there were snacks."

"It seems perfect for you," Emma laughed, pulling into his driveway.

"I really liked it, Em," Will replied, as she cut the engine.

Emma made eye contact with him above the cup holders and smiled. "I'm glad," she told him, honestly.

After getting out of the car and into the house, the two of them said hi to Jewell who greeted them with a plate of chocolate chip cookies to take to Will's room. As always, Jewell was super kind to Emma and Emma noticed that she was beginning to treat her like family. Not that Emma minded of course.

Once they were in his room they started going over his English homework. For the first time, Emma was the one wanting the homework to be over with instead of Will. Luckily, as she filed through his backpack, she noticed he barely had any. With the work he had to get done, she figured they should be done in about an hour which was extremely fast for them.

* * *

"Okay, we're done!" Emma declared, about an hour later. She tucked his English paper into his backpack and Will put the pencils back on his desk.

"So…" Will grinned. "I guess it's time."

"It's finally time," Emma beamed.

Will pushed aside his backpack and sat up on his knees. "Um. Should I sing now? Because we can do this later if you want."

"No," Emma laughed. "Come on, you said you would."

"No, no, I'm not backing out. I just wanted to make sure you still wanted to hear it," Will assured her.

"Of course I still want to hear it!" Emma exclaimed, loudly. Will raised an eyebrow, teasingly. "I mean, of course I still want to hear it," she repeated, quietly.

Will grinned. "I left my guitar in the den. I'll be right back." With that, he dashed out of the room in typical Will fashion and went to grab it. Less than a minute later, Will returned, equipped with a guitar in his hand. He plopped down on the bed beside Emma and smiled shyly. "Just let me tune the strings real quick."

"Go ahead," Emma gestured.

Will tuned his strings, humming softly to himself. When he was done, he looked up at Emma, biting his lip. "I'm ready, Em."

Emma beamed, gesturing for him to start. She was so glad to see the part of Will that he had kept hidden for so long. Even though, she hadn't heard him sing before Emma had a feeling that he would be really good. Will started strumming his guitar and had a cute look of intense concentration passing over his face.

_Oh uh-huh_

_If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea_

_I'll sail the world to find you_

_If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see_

_I'll be the light to guide you_

Will lifted his head and gave Emma the most innocent look, and she swore she felt her heart melting. Those stunning hazel eyes suddenly fixed on her and the slow smile starting to spread on his face, not to mention the fact that his voice was flawless. He was perfect and Emma felt herself falling in love with him all over again.

_Find out what we're made of_

_When we are called to help our friends in need_

Will's eyes were still locked on hers but they weren't so intense anymore. They were soft and so bright; the look in them was so tender. Just the way he was looking at her, it was like she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. He was making her feel beautiful without even doing anything and perhaps that's why she felt that way about him.

_You can count on me like 1, 2, 3_

_I'll be there_

_And I know when I need it_

_I can count on you like 4, 3, 2_

_You'll be there_

'_Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Ooooooh, oooohhh yeah, yeah_

_If you're tossin' and you're turnin' _

_And you just can't fall asleep_

_I'll sing a song beside you_

_And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me_

_Every day I will remind you_

Will's fingers were still nimbly dancing along the chords and his head was bobbing up and down to the beat. Emma thought she had never seen someone so handsome in her life as Will in this moment. She decided her new favorite sound was Will's singing voice.

_Oooh _

_Find out what we're made of_

_When we are called to help our friends in need_

_You can count on me like 1, 2, 3_

_I'll be there_

_And I know when I need it_

_I can count on you like 4, 3, 2_

_You'll be there_

'_Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Ooooooh, oooohhh yeah, yeah_

_You'll always have my shoulder when you cry_

_I'll never let go, never say goodbye_

_You know…_

Will thought back to all the times that they had been there for each other. When he told Emma the truth about his past, when a football player chucked a slushie at Emma and Will was there to help her clean up and wipe her tears, and when Will found out he was dyslexic and Emma was his shoulder to cry on. They had an unbreakable bond of friendship and early on, Will had felt he trusted Emma with anything which was rare for him.

_You can count on me like 1, 2, 3_

_I'll be there_

_And I know when I need it_

_I can count on you like 4, 3, 2_

_You'll be there_

'_Cause that's friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_

_Oooooooh, oooohhh_

_You can count on me 'cause I can count on you_

Will strummed on his guitar for one last note and then glanced up. "That song was for you, Emma. I meant every word," Will told her, softly.

"I loved it," Emma replied, her voice nearly breaking. "You have a beautiful, beautiful, singing voice. One of the best I've ever heard. You are so talented, Will, please don't ever forget that."

"Thank you," Will whispered, his hazel eyes blazing through with light. "I just wanted you to understand that you can always count on me and I hope that I can always count on you."

"You can," Emma nodded. "You can always always count on me."

* * *

**Ta-da! Will sang for Emma. ;) I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; I felt it was pretty crappy. Especially since I only spent yesterday and today working on it. :P But hey! It's still Monday and I updated on time! Woohoo. ;) **

**My sister and I are watching Valentine's Day (best movie ever!) so I was wondering…what are my readers favorite rom-coms or romantic movies? I could use some new ones to watch. My favorites are Valentine's Day, The Vow, Dear John, and Bride Wars. ;) What about you? Tell me in your review! **

**Hope all my readers have a lovely night. Or really day since most of you will be reading this in the morning. But it's 11:45 pm and I updated on time! Yeah buddy! **

**Oh yeah and please review! ;) ps song creds are Count on Me by Bruno Mars  
**


	13. Chapter 13- One Too Many

Chapter 13- One Too Many

**Author's Note- Hi everybody! I'm really sorry for the late update, I've been extremely busy with my babysitting job and just like lots of summer events with family and friends but I'm going to be updating regularly from now on. (yeah I know I say that a lot but I really mean it this time!) Anyways, yesterday was a really special day for me and my writing, I'll tell you about it in the bottom A/N b/c I know you guys probably want to read the chapter. ;)**

* * *

It was early Tuesday morning and Will was pulling on a pair of dark blue jeans when his phone rang. He scrambled to his bed, nearly tripping, and grabbed the old Nokia. Seeing Terri's name lighting up the screen, the boy clicked the answer button. "Hey Terri," Will greeted, glancing at the clock. It was 7:10; he wasn't even aware that Terri was awake this early.

"Good morning baby," Terri cooed, as Will rummaged through his drawers in search of a clean t-shirt. "What are you doing?"

"Um, I'm getting dressed," he mumbled, pulling out a gray and blue striped Old Navy tee from his top drawer. Before Will could ask what Terri was doing, she giggled.

"Ooh," Terri replied, flirtatiously. "Shirt on or off?"

Will rolled his eyes, glad she wasn't here to see his bright red cheeks. "Well, it's on now."

"Bummer," Terri laughed. "So, are you ready for your birthday party? It's in two days."

Will smiled a bit, turning the phone on speaker as he walked to the kitchen to start making himself breakfast. Since Jewell was asleep, he'd be eating alone. "Yeah, it should be really fun," Will told her, pulling out the box of Cheerios from the cabinet and opening the fridge for milk. "Thanks for doing all this for me, babe."

"No problem," Terri beamed. "I'm your girlfriend, after all. Isn't that what girlfriends do?"

"If you mean plan an amazing party for their boyfriend, then yes, that's what great girlfriends do," Will laughed, pouring the milk into his bowl and grabbing a spoon.

Terri had to stop herself from squealing with joy. It was working; her plan to get Will closer to her, that is. She knew that ever since he'd been hanging out with that redheaded girl, Emma, he'd been drifting away from her. Terri was starting to think that it was only going to be a matter of time before he dumped her to hook up with Bambi eyes. So, naturally, throwing him a nice quiet (she knew that although Will went to a ton of parties with her, he wasn't that into those kinds of parties) birthday party on Halloween, it would bring them closer. Of course, there was that little obstacle though. Emma. Will had still invited her to the party but Terri knew how to get rid of her. Obviously, that girl had problems with people and Terri was going to have no problem making her squirm.

"Aw thanks, Will," Terri grinned. "I just know you're going to love your present from me."

Will laughed, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I'm sure I will. Listen Terri, I gotta eat now, but I'll see you at school, okay?"

"Okay," Terri said, too happy to care that their conversation was ending. "Do you need a ride?"

"Um, no, I'm good." Will hated lying to Terri but it was better than her knowing the truth. "I'll see you there."

"Okay, then," Terri relented. "I love you."

"Love you too," Will replied, before shutting off his phone and going back to his bowl of cereal.

* * *

It was a few minutes before lunch and Will hadn't seen Emma all morning. Well, he had passed her in the hall but hadn't really gotten a chance to talk to her yet. But it was Tuesday, so it was his day to eat lunch with her in the library. Will adjusted his longboard in his locker and set his math notebook on a shelf when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around, expecting Emma's bright eyes and shy smile but found Terri's cold blue eyes and devious smirk. "Hey babe," Terri squealed, placing her hand on his chest and leaning in closely.

"Oh, uh, hey," Will stuttered, surprised. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Terri moved one hand to his waist, pulling him in closer, and the other rested on his cheek. "You're cute," she teased, before planting her lips onto his. Terri slid her tongue in and Will nearly forgot they were in the school hall, standing in front of his locker. She was in total control, running her hands through his curls and making Will's breathing quicken.

Will heard a small cough coming from behind Terri. His eyelids flew open and he spotted Emma standing behind his girlfriend, thoroughly disgusted by their public make out session. "Um…h-hello Will," Emma stuttered, her face red.

"Oh," Terri cackled, rolling her eyes at Emma. "I guess he didn't see you there."

Emma gave Will an once-over. He was leaning against the wall, shoulders hunched; face and ears bright red, and he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. "I…um…hey," Will mumbled, not even looking her in the eye.

"Hello Will," Emma replied, confidently. She was forcing herself not to look at Terri at all, already guessing that she was going to laugh in her face. Why wouldn't she? Terri was the one who got Will all to herself while Emma was the one who got to watch her claim him. "I was just stopping by for our…lunch."

Will licked his lips, about to move his eyes away from the ground and look at Emma, when Terri spoke up. "Actually," Terri giggled, hooking her arm through Will's. "We have a lunch date for today."

Will looked up, surprised. He stared into Terri's sapphire eyes and she grinned at his confused hazel ones. "Um…" Will started, in an attempt to set things straight.

"Oh," Emma cut him off, glaring at Terri. How could he let her treat him like this? The way Terri took control of him and made him her little minion was just cruel and perhaps worst part about it was that Terri knew it. "Well, I guess I should get going. It was nice seeing you, Terri." Emma spun around quickly and walked away equally as fast.

"Emma…" Will mumbled to no one in particular after she rounded the corner.

Terri slid her hand into his and led him to the lunch room, happily. "Come on, honey, lighten up," she encouraged.

Will looked up but certainly didn't lighten up. He was silent as they sat down at their table, among their group of friends. Ryan and Cody were talking about last night's game of _Call of Duty _on Xbox Live. Which, of course, Will couldn't partake in as he didn't own an Xbox 360, instead he owned a Wii which he spent months saving up for last year.

Terri noticed him not partaking in the conversation and his shoulder with her chin. "You shouldn't let that dorky redhead get to you, babe," Terri told him.

Will looked up at her, confused and a bit angry. "What?" Will said. "She didn't do anything wrong, Terri. You did."

Terri gasped with fake concern. "What? What did I do wrong?"

"You sent Emma away," Will shot back. "You know that I eat with her on non-tutoring days and you lied and said we had a lunch date. I didn't even know about our 'lunch date'!"

"It was a surprise," Terri pouted. "I just wanted to spend more time with _my boyfriend_, jeez."

Will sighed; Terri looked genuinely confused at all of this. "I don't get it," he relented, thinking about Terri's behavior.

"Neither do I," Terri snapped, more alert now. "Are you really mad at me because I sent Emma away or is it because she caught you making out with me? Hmm?"

All of their friends turned to face Will, shocking and surprised faces exchanged around the table. Will bit his lip, knowing that his cheeks were no doubt tinted pink because of Terri's last comment. "I'm sorry, Ter," Will replied quietly. "I don't know what got into me."

Terri smiled, feeling like she accomplished something important that lunch. "It's okay, Will," Terri assured him. "No biggie, babe. I just want all of us to be in a good mood for the party."

Will smiled a bit, nodding. "Yeah, yeah, definitely," Will agreed. "This should be a great party."

"Of course," Jensen piped up. "You'll have all of your friends there."

"Yeah," Terri said, grimacing a bit. "All of them."

* * *

As soon as football practice ended, Will bolted off the field. He only stopped by the locker room to change out of his pads and throw on his regular clothes and grab his longboard and backpack. He slung on his backpack, not even bothering to plug in his iPod headphones to listen to music like he usually did. Will pushed off on his longboard and started out of the parking lot.

* * *

Emma sat on her bed, attempting to focus on the episode of _The Office_ that was currently playing on her iPhone. When Steve Carrell couldn't even distract her, she gave up, shutting off her phone. She looked out the window, longingly. She knew that she would have to snap out of it sooner or later and looks like today was her wake-up call. It was obvious that he loved her. Well, at least it was obvious to Emma. Will was pretty much making out with Terri in the hall for everyone to see and he didn't even mind one bit. Terri, on the other hand, seemed to be thrilled. It was in the way that Will couldn't even look her in the eye when she had walked up to him, made Emma think that he loved Terri. If he didn't, he surely would've chased after her. Or at least said something to her.

But no, he let his girlfriend, Terri, do all the talking. Which Terri, of course, loved. She just loved to be in control of him, and if Emma didn't know better, she would say that Terri loved to hurt Will. Which of course was a very twisted logic and all but that was Terri. It killed Emma that no matter how much Terri would hurt Will; he would always keep running back to her even though she was the cause of his pain. Emma had no idea why and that pained both her and Will because Will was getting hurt and that meant Emma was getting hurt too. Only because she felt everything he felt too. If he was happy, she was happy, and if he was sad, she was sad for him.

Emma craned her head, hearing the sounds of wheels rubbing against hard pavement and the rattling echoing off the streets. She could recognize that sound anywhere; both James and Will skateboarded and she knew it was going to be one of them. She sighed, knowing it would be Will because James was at his friend's house next door. Why did he have to show up now?

For once, Emma actually didn't want to see Will. She wasn't mad at him or anything; she just…didn't want to see him. Not after she saw him with Terri at lunch. It was too much for Emma to take in one day. Especially, since knowing Will, he probably came over to apologize for not being able to eat lunch with her. But what he'd really be apologizing for was ditching her for Terri; not that either one of them would mention it. Because they wouldn't.

Emma didn't want to make him feel bad and Will was probably too embarrassed to know what to say. Emma decided if Will was going to ring the doorbell and try to see her, she wasn't going to answer. She would just tell whoever opened the door that she wasn't home because if she said that she was in the shower or doing homework; her mom would invite Will in to wait for her.

_Ding-dong! _The door bell sounded and she heard her mom scuttling towards the door. Emma quietly walked to the top of the stairs, where she could kind of see Will but he wouldn't be able to see her.

"Hey sweetie," Rose greeted, opening the door and motioning for him to step inside.

Will stepped out of the doorway and gave her that small smile of his. "Hi Mrs. Pillsbury, is Emma home?" he asked, politely.

"Yeah, just let me go get her," Rose replied. "I'm sure she'll be happy you dropped by."

Will grinned and nodded. His cheeks were a rosy red from riding at full speed all the way from the high school and his board was tucked under his arm. Emma could see this from the stairs. She could also see her mom smiling at her and padding up the stairs. When she reached the top, Emma shook her head.

Rose raised an eyebrow and mouthed 'Will,' pointing towards the bottom of the stairs and the door.

Emma shook her head and whispered, "No."

"What?" her mom whispered back, confused.

"Tell him I'm not here," Emma whisper-yelled, before storming back into her room, a bit annoyed.

Rose almost called after her daughter; to find out what was wrong but then remembered Will waiting by the door. She jogged down the steps and gave him a small smile. "She's…uh…she's not here," Rose lied, feeling bad for going along with what Emma had told her.

Will glanced towards the top of the stairs, wondering if Emma really wasn't home. Her mom had spent a while up there and he thought he heard whispering. He shook off the thought, telling himself that he was probably just paranoid. "Oh okay," Will mumbled, his face falling.

Rose winced, wondering why Emma didn't want to see him. He was so sweet to her and their whole family. "Sorry hon," Rose said, in consolation.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Will asked, looking at her with hope in his bright hazel eyes.

Rose's eyes darted towards the staircase for a second before landing back on the boy in front of her. "I'm not sure…she went out with Katie," Rose said.

"Oh," Will sighed.

"But she'll be at your party on Thursday for sure," Rose added quickly. "She's really excited for that."

"Yeah," Will smiled. "So am I."

` "We'll be out of town for James' hockey tournament; all of us are going. But we'll be back on Sunday. I imagine that Emma will hang out with you during that time so just make sure she doesn't burn down the house or anything," Rose joked.

"I will," Will laughed. "Well, I should get going. Sorry for bothering you."

Rose laughed. "Oh no, Will, you didn't bother me at all. Don't ever hesitate to stop by, okay?"

"Okay." Will turned back, smiling, and opening the door. "Thanks."

"It was nice seeing you," Rose called after him and he waved.

After he rolled down the driveway and began riding on the road, Rose shut the door and jogged back up the steps again. She walked to her daughter's room and didn't bother to knock, instead, just swinging the door wide open. Rose found Emma lying on her bed, playing _Mega Run _on her phone.

"What was that all about?" Rose demanded, not in a mean way though. Just an I-need-to-know-what's-going-on way.

Emma shut off her phone and looked up at her mom. "I just didn't feel like seeing him right now, that's all," Emma murmured.

Rose knew her daughter was lying so she sat down beside her on the bed. "I don't think that's really all, Emma," Rose told her. "Did you two have a falling-out?"

"No," Emma burst out. "Not at all."

"Then what's the deal, Em?" her mom asked her, placing her hand on her back.

Emma's eyes widened, only Will called her Em. She sat for a moment, thinking about him and only him. Maybe there really was no problem, maybe she was just overreacting over nothing. Why didn't she even want to talk to him? Emma doubted that if she had some insanely popular boyfriend and Will saw them kissing that he would want to ignore her. That wasn't like him and it shouldn't be like Emma either. "I'm sorry," Emma mumbled. "I honestly don't know…"

Rose bit her lip. "Do you have feelings for Will? Feelings more than friendship, I mean."

"No," Emma cried out, blushing. "Of course not, he's just my best friend, that's all."

"Okay," Rose teased. "So he hasn't done anything wrong? I shouldn't send James to go beat him up?"

"Nooo," Emma laughed. "He's still good; I was just overreacting from something earlier."

"Well, then I think that you should give him a call or a text," Rose said, softly. "Because he looked really worried and I think that he caught on to us."

"Okay, I will," Emma laughed.

"You should," Rose nodded. "You don't want to hurt a boy like that."

"What do you mean 'a boy like that'?" Emma wondered if she had overheard any phone conversations or accidently read any texts. She sure hoped not.

"Well, he's a nice guy," Rose explained. "They tend to be sensitive."

Emma exhaled a sigh of relief; her mom was just as clueless about Will's situation as she thought. "Yeah, he is," Emma replied. "Well, I'm going to call him now."

Rose nodded and left the room. Emma picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she found Will. She pressed on his name and held the phone to her ear as it rang.

"Hey," Will greeted, relieved. He had obviously been waiting on her call; he picked up on the second ring.

"Hi," Emma exclaimed, already feeling guilty.

"I came by your house like fifteen minutes ago," Will started. "Your mom said you weren't home. Is everything okay?"

Emma's heart swelled, of course he had to be concerned about her, because that was her personality. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," Emma breathed. "Sorry…I was just…um…I was out."

"It's okay," Will assured her. "What'd you and Katie do?"

"Just some errands," Emma lied. "I'm not mad at you," she added quickly.

"Oh, okay, thank god," Will stuttered. "I don't know, I thought you might be."

"No, of course not," Emma smiled. "I had no reason to be."

"Mmm, a little bit of a reason, but that's okay," Will admitted.

"Nah, it's fine," Emma assured him. "So are you ready for your party on Thursday?"

"Yeah," Will grinned. "I think it's going to be great."

"Of course it will be," Emma laughed. "All of your friends are going to be there."

"Yeah, all of them," Will repeated, hoping that there wouldn't be one too many at this party.

Whether the one too many was going to be Terri or Emma, they were bound to find out soon.

* * *

**Dun dun dun. I've got my money on Terri aha ;). I really hope you guys liked this chapter and I am extremely sorry about the late updating again. Updates are on Mondays from now on. ;)**

**So yesterday was a special day for me, involving my writing. It was my 1 year anniversary of writing on FanFiction. A year ago, I uploaded the first chapter of Half of My Heart (omg do you guys remember how crappy that was?) and I kind of took off from there. It's been amazing being able to share my writing with you guys, something I didn't even know I had in me until I tried it out on here. Well, I want to thank all of you. For everything. Just by looking at my overall stats for this, you can tell that I couldn't have done it without all of my faithful readers. I've written 180,005 words on here and received 633 reviews from all of you. That's amazing. It really is. In only one year to have all of you reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following my work; I feel extremely blessed. I want to thank you guys so much for not only the kind reviews and messages on tumblr, but for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful community. Writing is my escape and when I go on my laptop and upload new chapters and even get to interact with my readers and make new friends, it's just brilliant. I have made so many friends with this and you guys know who you are. I am grateful for everyone who has read anything of mine. I love you all. Thank you. Xx.**

**EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE LAST PARAGRAPH READ THIS NOW. (YES EVEN THE LAZY PEOPLE IT'S IMPORTANT) **

**Haha ok, so in honor of the one year thing, I'm going to let you guys vote for the next Wemma story that I'm going to write. I'll be uploading the first chapter on Friday. I will list 5 options below and in your review, please tell me which one you're voting for. And really please vote, I mean, it's my present to you guys. So here are the options *drumroll* **

**Option 1- ****Fearless**

High school AU. Emma has always been close with the 3 boys next door, especially the youngest, Will. It's summer, she's 16, and she's finally going to act on her longtime crush, the middle brother, Cameron. Emma creates an extravagant plan; involving a fake relationship, a new wardrobe, and her best friend, Will. There's just one glitch...Will's feelings.

**Option 2- Starry Nights **

High school AU. Will Schuester's summer job consisted of being a counselor at Camp Wichita, at 16, the month long job was perfect. Joking around with the kids, hanging by the beach, boating and wakeboarding, along with tons of ice cream...it was a dream. Enter Emma Pillsbury, forced to volunteer by her best friend, and not too into the summer scene. Until she meets Will, that is.

**Option 3- You've Got Mail **

High school AU. Based on the book Rob& . Will Schuester and Emma Pillsbury have never met, they could be thousands of miles apart or right around the corner, he won't tell her his real name, yet the two forge an unlikely friendship through email. It's better that they don't know who they're really talking to, right? Because the answer might shock them.

**Option 4- Moments**

AU. Based on the movie The Vow. Life is all about the moments of impact and how they change our lives forever. The truth is we're the sum of all the moments we've experienced with all the people we've ever known...and these moments become our history. So that's my theory. That these moments of impact define who we are. But what if you could no longer remember them?

**Option 5- The Boy Next Door**

High school AU. Based on the book My Life Next Door. The Schuesters and the Pillsburys couldn't be more different. The Schuesters are loud, big, and messy. The Pillsburys are quiet, small, and organized. And yet, every night Emma Pillsbury sits on her roof and watches the Schuesters. One day, everything changes...a curly-haired Schuester climbs up and sits next to her, altering their lives forever.

**See you guys next Monday. **

**Tumblr- iluvwillschuester**

**Instagram- we_all_need_fixing**

**Private Instagram and kik- just ask! **


	14. Chapter 14- Truth

Chapter 14- Truth

**Author's Note- Hello guys, it's still Monday and it's updating day and this is on time, woohoo! Yeah! Here's the first part of the party, hope you enjoy. :)**

* * *

Emma parked her Honda in front of a house that already had a few cars lined up in the driveway. She reached for her phone which lay in her purse, to double check that she had the right house address. Will had sent her Terri's address and all the particulars yesterday after school. It was now eight o' clock on Halloween night and Emma's car was sitting in front of Terri's house. She glanced around, seeing kids in colorful costumes parading down the street with bags full of candy. Thankfully, Will's birthday party was not a costume party. Seeing that the address in Will's text matched the one printed on the house, Emma grabbed her purse and walked up the pathway to the front door. She took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. Emma looked to her side and noticed how instead of personally giving out candy, there was a big bowl on their step. Within a few seconds, Emma heard chatter and people running towards the door. The doorknob turned and Will, Terri, and Jensen were on the other side.

"Hey Em!" Will exclaimed, happily, motioning for her to come inside. "You look great."

Emma blushed involuntarily. She had spent over an hour trying to look just right for this party, partly because it was probably the only party she'd ever be invited to during high school and hugely because it was Will's birthday party. "Thanks, as do you," she replied.

"It's nice to see you," Jensen greeted, kindly. Out of everyone in their group, Jensen always seemed the kindest after Will. His reputation with girls was good and he didn't generally bully people.

"It's nice to see you too," Emma nodded, avoiding Terri's eyes.

"Hey Emma," Terri spoke up, trying to smile but her mouth ended up in a twisted grimace. "Really great that you're here, huh?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed, quietly. "I mean, it's for Will, so…"

Will could already sense Terri trying to pick a fight with Emma. Which would probably end in Emma having a panic attack and Terri wondering what she did wrong, so it obviously couldn't happen tonight for Will. "I'm just really happy that both of you could make it," Will interrupted.

"It's my house, why wouldn't I make it?" Terri asked, rolling her eyes.

Will shrugged. "I don't know."

"Don't be stupid tonight," Terri snapped, leaving the three of them behind and heading towards the rest of the group in the kitchen.

Emma saw Will's face fall for a few quick seconds and his hazel eyes lose their sparkle. She had to stop herself from reaching out and taking his hand. "Let's go to the kitchen with them," Jensen suggested, leading the way.

Will and Emma nodded, following him. When they were a few steps behind, Emma looked at Will and whispered, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Will smiled. "Don't worry about Terri, she'll lighten up. Tonight's going to be great."

Emma beamed. "I sure hope so."

"I know so," Will whispered, as they approached everyone in the kitchen. Everyone looked up and smiled, well, Terri kind of grimaced. "Hey guys, this is Emma. I'm pretty sure you all know her."

"Hi Emma," Aubrey waved.

"I like your outfit, it's really cute," Megan smiled.

"'Sup," Cody and Ryan greeted in unison.

Emma waved in the general direction of everyone. "Hey guys," she smiled, thinking that this couldn't be that bad. Everyone seemed really nice right now and she hoped that was enough to get her through the night without Terri like killing her or something.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Will offered, walking towards the fridge. "There's Coke, Sprite, Orange Fanta, or water."

"Will didn't want any booze because he's a buzz kill like that," Ryan teased.

Emma laughed at Ryan's comment and watched Will smile shyly. "I'll have…" Emma started.

"Sprite, right?" Will asked.

"Yeah," Emma blushed. "Sprite." She didn't remember telling Will that Sprite was her favorite drink, but somehow he knew. The only time she drank it in front of him was when they hung out at her house. It was nice to know that Will paid attention to the little things about her and actually remembered them. Quite honestly, for Emma it was the best feeling in the world to have someone remember something about you, something you said a long time ago, or pick up on one of your quirks without you saying anything.

Will handed her a Solo cup of Sprite and Emma took a small sip. "Thanks, Will."

Jensen noticed the big blue box in Emma's hand and smiled. "Is that your present for Will?" he asked.

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "Where should I put it?"

Jensen pointed behind her, where the den was. The coffee table held everyone's boxes and bags for the birthday boy. "Just set it over there," he told her, kindly.

"Okay." Emma walked over and set it down with everyone else's gifts before returning back to the kitchen with everyone. Will patted the empty stool beside him and she sat down at the counter with him.

Cody was in the corner talking to someone on the phone and from the snippets that Emma could hear, it sounded like he was ordering pizza. "Cheese or pepperoni?" he yelled from the other room.

There was a mixed response in total and Cody couldn't really hear so he just ordered anyways. A minute later, he walked back into the kitchen, downing his Coke. "I got us two pepperoni pizzas and one cheese," he announced.

"Did you get bread sticks?" Terri asked.

"Two orders," Cody grinned.

"Yay," Will laughed.

"Why didn't you get two cheeses instead?" Megan questioned her boyfriend.

Cody shrugged. "I like meat, I guess."

"Jerk," Megan laughed, throwing a pillow at him from the sofa.

"You know you love me," Cody teased, plopping down beside her.

Cody and Megan continued talking for a while on the sofa and it was just Will, Emma, Terri, Aubrey, Ryan, and Jensen seated at the counter. Terri set down her glass of water and smiled broadly at them. "So, what movie would you guys like to watch?" she asked.

"We're going to eat while watching, right?" Ryan wondered, running a hand through his gelled-up hair.

"Yes, you pig," Terri sighed. She wrapped her arm around Will's shoulders and rested her head on the one nearest to her. "Which would you like to watch, baby?"

"I don't know," Will smiled. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Why don't we ask everyone?"

"Well, we have to at least have some choices," Terri replied. "Netflix or DVD?"

Will contemplated the choices in his head for a moment before responding. "Netflix probably has more choices."

"Yeah," Terri nodded. "They just got _The Avengers _and _The Hunger Games_ on there last week."

"I like _The Hunger Games_," Will commented. "Do you guys?"

"I love Liam Hemsworth," Aubrey gushed, grinning.

"Ehh, Jennifer Lawrence is kind of dorky," Ryan added.

"I agree," Cody shouted from the sofa.

"I haven't seen _The Avengers_ yet," Will started. "Maybe we could watch that."

Everyone agreed and they all went back to talking. Emma didn't feel uncomfortable at all on account of Will never forgot to include her in the conversations and the girls were being nice to her and Terri was putting up with her at least. The other boys were also very kind; Cody and Ryan even apologized again for the slushie incident that occurred a few weeks prior. Within thirty minutes, the doorbell rang and the pizza had arrived. Cody and Terri went to the front door to go get it and Will smiled when he heard Cole talking to them and handing over their food. After a few minutes, the front door closed and they brought the food to the den. The girls set up plates and cups and they all began eating dinner together.

"Alright, movie time!" Terri announced, happily.

"What about the cake?" Megan asked.

"We're doing that at midnight, duh," Terri replied. "Let me save some of your breath; same goes for presents."

"Oh," Megan nodded, thoughtfully.

"Will, babe, would you put the movie on?" Terri asked, smiling sweetly.

"Sure," he replied, as Terri kissed the top of his head on her way to the kitchen.

"Megan, Aubrey!" Terri called. "Help me make popcorn."

"Okay," they both cried in unison, following Terri to the kitchen like lost puppies. Will began searching for the movie on Netflix and talking to Emma as he did so.

Terri pulled out a few microwavable bags of popcorn from the pantry and placed the first one in the microwave. "Girls…Emma is totally up to something tonight," Terri declared, with clear desperation in her voice.

"Um, I don't really think so," Aubrey argued.

"I agree with Aubrey," Megan started. "She's being nice to everyone and Will really likes her so we just like have to be nice."

"Grin and bear it?" Terri demanded. "I don't think so. I have cut Will way too much slack on this situation and I'm getting really sick of it."

"Terri, you're being crazy again," Aubrey sighed. "He's not in love with Emma, or anything remotely like that."

"Yeah, but she's in love with him," Terri exclaimed.

"So?" Megan countered. "I was like in love with Will in fifth grade and nothing happened."

"I'm going ignore the fact that that was completely irrelevant," Terri snapped. "This is _different_. He actually likes her as a friend and they hang out all the time. Will called her his best friend!"

"It's called having a girl friend," Aubrey explained. "Like with a space in between."

"Ugh, you guys are hopeless," Terri screeched. "If Will's not in love with her, then Emma's definitely in love with him."

"How do you know that?" Megan asked, quietly.

"I'm going to prove it," Terri smirked, pouring the popcorn into bowls.

* * *

The movie ended around eleven and Terri lifted her head from Will's chest. "Did you like it?" she asked him.

"Yeah, it was really cool," Will smiled.

"That's what I thought," Terri grinned, leaning up to kiss him softly. Emma forced herself to pay attention to her conversation with Aubrey and Megan instead of letting her heart break as she saw the happy couple. She was starting to hope that Terri was going to speak up soon because Emma could only talk about which mall the best Forever 21 was at for so long. "You guys wanna play a game?" Terri suggested, glancing at everyone.

"Can we play Never Have I Ever?" Ryan asked, smiling.

"I was thinking more along the lines of Truth," Terri smirked.

"Isn't that a chick game that you guys play at sleepovers and it causes like a ton of drama?" Ryan asked.

"It doesn't cause a lot of drama," Megan muttered quietly.

"Yeah, it does," Jensen argued. "Because the truth comes out."

"What's so wrong with the truth?" Aubrey asked.

"Lots of things," Will mumbled.

"Yeah, I don't really think this game is a good idea," Emma said.

"Then we should definitely play it," Terri grinned. "Bad ideas create good memories."

"Terri…" Will started.

She shut him up with a kiss, when she pulled away she grinned at Emma. "Let's start," Terri announced. "Everyone knows the rules, right? Someone has to ask another person a question and it can be any question they want to ask. The person has to answer a hundred percent truthfully and the asker has to accept the answer for it to count."

"Do we go in a circle?" Cody asked.

"Well, we go in a circle to take turns asking questions but you don't have to ask the person next to you. You can ask whoever," Terri replied.

"Okay," Cody nodded. They all sat in a circle, Terri was on one side of Will and Emma was on the other. "Can I ask first?"

"Sure," Terri nodded, taking Will's hand.

"Megan," Cody started. "How much do you love me?"

"That's a stupid question," Terri exclaimed, as Megan laughed.

"To the moon and back," Megan replied, happily.

Will smiled at Emma and she felt herself light up inside. Megan was next in the circle and she looked at Terri. "Terri, why are you mean to Will sometimes?" she asked.

Will bit his lip, Emma's eyes widened, and Terri's jaw dropped; she was shocked. "I am not!" she exclaimed. "I have no idea what you were talking about."

"Well," Megan began. Terri was becoming increasingly frustrated with this. She felt like Megan was always acting like Karen, the dumb blond, in _Mean Girls. _And, of course, Regina George was far more superior than Karen in that movie. "Like sometimes at lunch and in the halls, you call him retarded or stupid and then his face gets all like…" Megan made a pouty face. "It's really sad because he looks like a baby puppy that got kicked by its owner."

"I think puppies are baby dogs," Aubrey whispered, to no one in particular.

"Is Terri supposed to be the owner in that situation?" Cody asked.

"Okay, okay, enough," Terri cut off, waving her hands.

"I do not accept that answer," Megan replied.

Terri sighed loudly and Will glanced at Emma nervously. "Fine," Terri snapped. "Okay, sometimes I'm like that towards my boyfriend because I just want him to do the best that he can and being stupid or retarded is unacceptable."

Megan nodded, triumphantly. "I accept."

Emma noticed Terri smiling at Will and Will smiled back. But it was the kind of smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and Emma grimaced. It hurt badly to hear Terri say those things to him but that wasn't the only thing that hurt. It was also the fact that she couldn't take his hand or rub his back or comfort him in any way during this moment.

Aubrey was next in the circle and she glanced at everyone in the circle, deciding who and what to ask. "Ryan," Aubrey started. "Would you make a move on Terri, if Will was out of the picture?"

Will and Terri laughed and Ryan shifted uncomfortably. "Definitely," Ryan nodded. "Yup, not even ashamed."

"I accept," Aubrey giggled.

"You're a pig," Terri said, rolling her eyes dismissively.

Jensen was next in the circle and he looked around, until his eyes landed on Aubrey. "Why didn't you ever talk to me? I mean, last year, after that New Year's Eve party where we kissed."

Aubrey turned red and Emma started to realize how this game was played. Basically, now was everyone's chance to ask someone an uncomfortable personal question and get the honest answer. She was praying that no one, well, really Terri, would ask her a mean question. Especially not something concerning Will.

Aubrey nodded, still flushed. "Fair enough. Jensen, I only like you as a friend. I wouldn't date you, just like I wouldn't ever date Will, both of you are too nice for my tastes."

"Oh," Jensen nodded. "Okay."

It was Ryan's turn and he was making Emma nervous with the way he was smirking at Will. She would die if he said something mean about her to him.

"Will," Ryan began. "This one's for you. How far…No…Have you lost it yet?"

Emma blushed, as well as everyone sitting in the circle with the exception of Ryan. Emma was pretty sure she knew the answer though. All of his friends seemed to be embarrassed for him, only not Ryan. He was still waiting on an answer.

"Lost what?" Will stammered, blushing.

"What do you think?" Ryan smirked. "Everyone in this circle except for you and your friend have. Pretty sure Terri did before you happened."

"I did," Terri murmured quietly.

Right now, Emma didn't care that Ryan had just included her in that category. It was true but she only cared about Will now. She hoped that he didn't have to answer that question and was honestly hoping that he wouldn't.

"Hey," Jensen interrupted. "He doesn't have to answer that, Ryan."

"Yeah, he does," Ryan argued.

Jensen turned to Will. "Hey, Will, you don't have to answer him, bud."

"Shut up, Jensen," Ryan told him. "It's the rules."

"I…" Will rubbed the back of his neck, blushing an uncomfortable amount. "Um…" He bit his lip, wanting to skip this question.

"I think that pretty much sums it up," Ryan laughed.

"Jerk," Jensen muttered under his breath.

Will was next and the circle and he turned to Terri without even hesitating. "Do you think that you're in control of me?" he asked, the words spilling out before he had time to stop them. Truthfully, Will had always wanted to ask that question and during many arguments, he was surprised that it didn't come out accidently.

"What?" Terri spat. "I mean, what are you talking about, sweetie?" she repeated quieter this time.

"Well." Will glanced nervously at Emma out of the corner of his eye and she gave him a small smile, urging him to go on. "You say mean stuff to me a lot and yeah, it kinda does hurt my feelings most of the time. You always make all the calls in who we hang out with and you make me go to those far away college campus parties just so you can get drunk. Plus, you get mad whenever I hang out with Emma," Will explained.

Emma couldn't help from smiling at Will's confession and watched as Terri opened her mouth to reply. "I…no I don't think I'm in control of you but I do agree that most of the time I do make decisions. I only do that because you're a wuss and you don't know what's best for you."

Will cleared his throat and looked around to see his friends all staring at them. "Fair enough," he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. Maybe that's why he didn't ask that question all those times. Will wasn't afraid of asking the question but he was afraid of the answer.

"Terri's next," Emma declared, trying to lighten the mood a bit. She looked at Will and he looked to be deep in thought and concentrating hard.

"Okay," Terri drawled, poking Will's arm to get his attention.

"Oh, is the question for me?" Will wondered, praying that it wasn't. He couldn't stay any more of the truth.

"No," Terri started. "But I want you to pay attention, babe."

Will smiled a bit; whenever she called him a pet name it usually meant she wasn't mad at him or annoyed. At least in Will's head, it made him feel like she loved him. "Okay?"

Emma was silently hoping the question wasn't something for her, because if it was, this game could possibly get a thousand more times awkward.

"Emma," Terri smirked, turning her head towards her. "This one's for you."

"Erm…okay," Emma stuttered, feeling her heart speed up. She couldn't help but notice Will glancing from Terri and then back to her before scooting over protectively towards Emma. She immediately knew she wasn't the only person who was a bit worried over Terri's question.

"Are you in love with my boyfriend?" Terri asked, looking her straight in the eyes.

"What?" Will interrupted loudly. "You can't ask that, Terri. That's inappropriate. No, of course not. She isn't."

"What?" was all that Emma managed to utter.

Terri ignored Will. "Are you in love with Will? My boyfriend, Will," Terri clarified.

"She's not," Will shot back. "Cut it out."

Emma was breathing faster and her cheeks were flushed to the color of her hair. She looked like she might cry. Will knew that Terri definitely intimidated her but he had no idea it was this bad. He wasn't going to let her cry. Not here, not now.

"Terri, stop," Megan whispered to her friend.

Ryan snorted. "Just answer the question."

"N-no," Emma stuttered quietly. "I'm not…in love with Will." Emma was hoping that this was it; that Terri wouldn't dig for more information or push the envelope.

Terri leaned forward, practically teasing Emma with her eyes. "I don't believe you," Terri announced, slowly as if Emma was mentally challenged.

"Terri," Will yelled. "Enough!"

"It's in the rules, Will," Terri replied, rolling her eyes. "If I don't accept her answer, it doesn't count."

"So accept her answer," Cody shrugged.

"No, because she's lying," Terri scoffed. She turned towards Emma again. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't have feelings for him."

Emma gazed into Terri's cold blue eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't have f-feelings for him," Emma whispered.

"Yeah, no," Terri snapped. "Stop stuttering, you're making it more obvious."

"I don't love Will," Emma said loudly, nearly yelling.

Will stopped for a second and realized what she said. She didn't love him. Of course, he knew that she didn't love him like a boyfriend or anything. But he was kind of hoping that she loved him in their kind of way. As best friends, as people, as them. He had told her practically everything about him and to know that she just yelled that…it kind of hurt him. "Terri, I need to talk to you," Will said, calmly cutting through the silence.

"Okay," Terri replied, standing up and smoothing out her skinny jeans. She followed Will to the end of the hallway and flipped a light on. "What's up?"

"Don't ask me _what's up_," Will shot back, running a hand through his curls. Terri backed off a bit; she had never seen Will this fired up about something before.

"Fine," Terri countered. "What's wrong?"

"You said you were going to be nice to Emma! You said you and your friends would welcome her! Your friends are being welcoming but you sure as heck aren't," Will explained, waving his hands around.

"Chill, I said I would tolerate her. I didn't say anything about being nice. Or playing nice," Terri smirked.

"Yes, you did," Will replied. "Well, you kind of did. I mean, it's for my birthday, Terri! Just for one night…you couldn't even do this for me?"

"Not with her involved, no," Terri sighed.

"Why would you ask that question?" Will demanded. "That was incredibly inappropriate."

"Because I know it's true," Terri sighed. "It's so obvious that she's in love with you."

"How can you tell?" Will asked, crossing his arms.

"Because she looks at you the same way that you look at me; like a lost puppy," Terri admitted, quietly.

"I…" Will slowly trailed off. A lost puppy? Was that what Terri really thought of him? That stung, not only his pride, but his heart. He swallowed hard and looked up at Terri again. "I am going to go get Emma and we're going to head out."

"Will…" Terri started.

"Thank you for everything," he stated, before walking back to the den with Terri hot on his heels. Emma looked up at Will as soon as he entered the room and their eyes connected, Will nodding. "Emma, let's go," he told her.

"Oh okay," Emma agreed, standing up. "Thanks guys," she said to everyone sitting in the den. "You were really nice." Emma picked up her present for Will off the table and walked up to him and Terri, waiting for him to lead the way.

"Bye guys," Will waved. He jerked his head towards the door and Emma was quick to follow.

Terri grabbed onto his arm just as they reached the door. "Will…wait. I'm sorry," she pleaded.

"Yeah, well, it's kind of too late," Will replied, holding the door for Emma. He closed it as soon as the redhead cleared it and he jogged down the front steps.

"Where are we going?" Emma asked, glancing around. The streetlights illuminated the empty streets, by now, it was 11:30 and all the trick or treaters were probably tucked into bed.

Will took her hand and gave her a small smile. "Somewhere."

* * *

**And if you have a minute, why don't we go somewhere only we know? Haha that's one of my favorite songs. I hope you all liked this chapter and the next one will be pretty long and cover the rest of their night together and all that good stuff. So obviously, the voting went awesome last chapter. Thanks to all that left a review and voted. :) If you didn't know, The Boy Next Door won and the first chapter is up now. Click on my bio and you'll find it under my stories. I really hoped that you guys enjoyed this chapter. While you're at it, why don't you check out another great Wemma story called Unbreakable Love by TwoHeartsBecomeOne. Leave her a review because it's totally amazing. :)**

**Mlissa Mays- It is STILL Monday here if you can believe it haha. When I got your review today, it was around 6:20 pm and I had to leave for cross country and then I finished writing this when I got back after dinner. So right now it's around 11:20 pm. 40 minutes until Tuesday where I live. So sorry love but it's on time lol. Thanks for the reviews though, you're like one of my best reviewers, you always manage to make me smile. Do you have a Fanfiction account or tumblr or kik or something? Just so we can talk :)**

**I don't know when I'll see you guys next. :P I'm going on vacation all next week and I don't think my parents are letting me bring my laptop and I don't know if there will even be wifi up there so I might have to take a one week break. I am so sorry! **

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